Floyd Thompson (lawyer)
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Chief Justice Floyd Thompson |
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Photograph of Thompson during his time as a justice of the Supreme Court of Illinois.
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| Chief Justice Supreme Court of Illinois | |
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In office April 1, 1919 – 1928 |
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| Preceded by | Justice George A. Cooke |
| Succeeded by | Justice William M. Farmer |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
December 25, 1887 Roodhouse, Illinois |
| Died | October 18, 1960 (aged 72) |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Parents | Alonzo and Sarah (nee Edwards) Thompson |
| Occupation |
Criminal lawyer Publisher, East Moline Herald |
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| Committees |
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Floyd E. Thompson (December 25, 1887 – October 18, 1960) was a justice of the Supreme Court of Illinois and a criminal lawyer. He is perhaps best known for representing American businessman Samuel Insull, who in 1934 faced mail fraud and antitrust charges. Insull's verdict was not guilty.
Thompson, the son of Alonzo and Sarah (Edwards) Thompson, was born Christmas Day in 1887 on a poor farm in Roodhouse, Illinois. Thompson worked on the family farm while he was in school; after graduation, he spent three years working as a teacher.
Thompson never attended university or law school, but he studied for the bar examination on his own, and in 1911, he was admitted to the bar of Tennessee and Illinois. He established a law practice in East Moline, Illinois, and also became publisher of the East Moline Herald. In November 1912, he won election as State's attorney for Rock Island County, Illinois. He was elected president of the Illinois State’s Attorney’s Association in December 1915, and easily won re-election as State's Attorney in November 1916.
In 1919, a vacancy arose on the Supreme Court of Illinois when Justice George A. Cooke stepped down to become chief counsel of Peoples Gas Light and Coke Company, and Thompson ran for this seat, winning election in April 1919. In June 1921, he won re-election to a full term. Thompson served on the Illinois Supreme Court until 1928, during which time he served as chairman of the American Bar Association's Section of Criminal Law (1921–1923) and as vice-president of the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology. He was a charter member of the American Law Institute upon its founding in 1923.
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