Thomas Baltzell

Thomas Baltzell (July 11, 1804 – January 1866) was an American lawyer and politician who was the first popularly elected chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court.

[1] Baltzell was well known to have a fiery temper which surfaced in October 1832 when he and James Westcott engaged in a duel near the Alabama border.

Soon after his duel with Westcott, Baltzell was elected to represent Jackson County on the Florida Territorial Legislative Council.

[2] With elections approaching, Baltzell became embroiled in a public feud with another justice, Charles H. DuPont, over a lower-court judge.

With the American Civil War raging, Baltzell recovered from his Supreme Court loss and won a seat in the Florida House of Representatives from 1862 to 1863.