TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — The state of Florida will honor a former Leon County circuit judge Thursday.
In a memo Wednesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis directed the flags of the United States and the State of Florida to be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset Thursday at the Leon County courthouse, Tallahassee’s city hall and the Florida State Capitol to show a mark of respect for former Florida Second Judicial Circuit judge James Hankinson.
Hankinson died July 6 following a battle with brain cancer at age 70.
In the memo, the governor noted that Hankinson - who also went by Jimmy - was a circuit judge in Tallahassee for 18 years and before that was a lawyer for 40 years.
The governor’s memo said Hankinson received his bachelor’s degree from Davidson College and his law degree from Florida State University.
He began his legal career as a lawyer in Milton, Florida then relocated to Tallahassee in 1981.
Hankinson was appointed a judge by then Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in 2002 and resigned as judge in 2020.
“Judge Hankinson will be remembered as a dedicated public servant, father, and friend,” DeSantis said in the memo, which was addressed to Nick Maddox, chairman of the Leon County Commission, city of Tallahassee mayor John Dailey and Tom Berger, Florida’s Director of Real Estate Management and Development.
