[4] During the American Civil War, he prosecuted James McKay Sr., once mayor of Tampa and a cattleman, for treason against the Confederacy.
McKay was accused of trading with the Union forces in Key West as well as being a Federal spy.
The trial was postponed and McKay left Tampa only to be arrested by the Union for smuggling.
[5] After the war Magbee became a "scalawag", a term of derision, when he changed affiliations from southern Democrats, to northern Republicans.
Known for his public drunkenness, Tampa residents spread molasses and cornmeal on his unconscious body where it lay in the street and pigs reportedly ate off the sweet mixture along with some of the judge's clothes.