James W. Kehoe

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James W. Kehoe

Judge on the United States District Court
In office 1979 – 2002
Nominated by	Jimmy Carter

Born	September 27, 1925(1925-09-27) Portsmouth, Virginia
Died	December 13, 1998 (aged 73) Miami, Florida
Spouse	Shirley Kehoe

James W. Kehoe (September 27, 1925–December 13, 1998) was an American lawyer and judge.

Kehoe was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, in 1925. His family moved to Florida when Kehoe was an infant.

Kehoe graduated from Miami Senior High School. He served in the United States Army Air Corps from 1943 to 1946, attaining the rank of sergeant. Kehoe graduated from the University of Florida in 1947 with an Associate of Arts degree in 1947 on a football scholarship and from the University of Florida College of Law with an LL.B. in 1950.

Kehoe was admitted to the bar in 1950, and was in private practice in Miami, Florida from 1950 to 1955, mostly doing criminal defense work. He was assistant county solicitor for Dade County from 1955 to 1957, before returning to private practice in Miami from 1957 to 1961.

Governor C. Farris Bryant appointed Kehoe to the state Civil Court of Record from 1961 to 196. He served as a judge of the 11th Judicial Circuit from 1963 and 1977, and was reelected several times. Kehoe served as administrative judge of the 11th Circuit and was elected chief judge in 1977. Governor Reubin Askew appointed Kehoe to the Florida Third District Court of Appeal from 1977 to 1979; he wrote over 200 majority opinions during his two years on the court.

Senator Lawton Chiles recommendations Kehoe for the federal judiciary to President Jimmy Carter. Carter nominated Kehoe to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida on July 18, 1979, to the new seat created by 92 Stat. 1629. Confirmed by the Senate on October 4, 1979, he received commission on October 5, 1979.

While on the court Kehoe presided over the trial of former Hialeah mayor Raul L. Martinez on charges of conspiracy, extortion and racketeering, in July 1991. (Martinez was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison, but the conviction was overturned in 1996 following a third trial; the second trial, in 1996, resulted in a hung jury).

Kehoe assumed senior status on October 16, 1992. He died in 1998 in Miami. He was survived by his wife of 46 years, Shirley, and their two children.