George Couper Gibbs (October 28, 1879 – September 17, 1946) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 26th Florida Attorney General from 1938 until 1941.

Early life and education

Gibbs was born in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

on October 28, 1879. Gibbs was named after his grandfather, Colonel George Couper Gibbs, an officer in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Gibbs was mustered into service on April 25, 1898, the day the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

began. He served in the

Florida Army National Guard The Florida Army National Guard is Florida's component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. In the United States, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the federal army's available combat forces ...

, having been assigned as a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

in Company G of the 1st Florida Volunteer Infantry. His regiment did not see any combat, remaining in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

, and later

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...

, for the majority of the war. Gibbs was mustered out of the military on October 8, 1898. In 1901, Gibbs began attending

Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University (Washington and Lee or W&L) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. Established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, it is among ...

Lexington, Virginia Lexington is an Independent city (United States)#Virginia, independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 7,320. It is the county seat of Rockbridge County, Virg ...

. He graduated with his

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree in 1903. Gibbs was admitted to the Florida Bar the same year, and he joined the law firm A. W. Cockrell & Son as a law assistant.

Political career

In 1912, Gibbs was elected to the municipal court of Duval County. He served until 1913, when Governor Park Trammell appointed him to the Fourth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. Gibbs served on the court for an extended period of time, resigning to return to private practice in 1935.

Death of Arthur Maillefert

During his time on the court, Gibbs was launched into national fame when he presided over a case involving the death of Arthur Maillefert. Maillefert was a 22-year-old drifter from

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

who moved to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

to try to make it big as a criminal during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. After being run out of Dade County in 1930, Maillefert was arrested following an armed robbery at a Daytona Beach gas station. After being caught following his escape, Maillefert was sentenced to 9 years in the Sunbeam Prison Camp, also known as Road Camp 36, near Jacksonville. The prison utilized prisoner labor in order to clear out swampland for the creation of U.S. Route 1. One day while in

solitary confinement Solitary confinement (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...

for refusing to work, Maillefert was able to escape. On June 3, 1932, a guard, Solomon Higginbotham, chased Maillefert with two bloodhounds and recaptured him. The camp's warden, George Washington Courson, personally tied a chain around Maillefert's neck and left him in solitary confinement. When guards checked on him an hour later, Maillefert had

asphyxiated Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects all the tissues and organs, some more rapidly than others. There are m ...

. After a sensational article by the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' garnered national attention, Courson and Higginbotham were both charged with

first-degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse ...

. Gibbs, presiding over the trial, acquitted Higginbotham and sentenced Courson to 20-years of hard labor. The verdict was reversed on appeal and a new trial ordered which never took place. Gibbs retired from the court 3 years later, having served a total of 22 years on the bench. He returned to private practice in Jacksonville.

Florida Attorney General

On May 16, 1938, Governor Fred P. Cone appointed Gibbs as the 26th Florida Attorney General, succeeding Cary D. Landis, who had died in office. While he was in office,

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

began in Europe. In the 1940 commencement address at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

, Gibbs stressed the importance of patriotism in America, citing the lack of freedoms in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

and the quick conquest of the neighboring countries. Gibbs did not seek a full term in the 1940 election, preferring to return to private practice.

Death and personal life

Gibbs was a member of Civitan International,

Phi Delta Phi Phi Delta Phi (), commonly known as Phid or PDP, is an international legal honor society and the oldest legal organization in continuous existence in the United States. Founded in 1869 at the University of Michigan as a professional fraternity, ...

, and Phi Kappa Psi. Gibbs died in Jacksonville on September 17, 1946. The George Couper Gibbs residence at 2717 Riverside Avenue in Jacksonville was designed by Mellen Clark Greeley. It is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

as part of the Riverside Historic District.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbs, George Couper 1879 births 1946 deaths Florida attorneys general Politicians from Jacksonville, Florida Lawyers from Jacksonville, Florida Washington and Lee University alumni