Paul Dryden Barns (March 20, 1894 – September 22, 1973) was an American judge who served as a justice of the Florida Supreme Court from December 2, 1946, to September 1, 1949.
Early life and education Born in Plant City, Florida,Erik Robinson, "Florida Supreme Court Justices: List of Life Dates", Florida Supreme Court Historical Society (June 2010). Barns was an aerial gunner and then an aerial gunnery instructor in the United States Army Air Corps during World War I."Paul D. Barns, 79, Served On Florida Supreme Court", Tampa Bay Times (September 23, 1973), p. 11-B. He graduated from the University of Florida College of Law in 1920."Know Your Candidate for Supreme Court Justice", Tampa Bay Times (April 30, 1946), p. 11.
Judicial career Barns became a judge of the Dade Civil Court of Record in 1929, and then a circuit judge until his election to the Florida Supreme Court in 1946, to a seat vacated by the retirement of Justice Armstead Brown.Joseph A. Boyd Jr., Randall Reder, "A History of the Florida Supreme Court", University of Miami Law Review (1981), p. 1058.
Barns "thoroughly disliked Tallahassee", but expressed a sense of civic obligation to continue in the position until his resignation in 1949.
Later life Barns then returned to private practice in Miami, also occasionally teaching at the University of Miami School of Law, and serving as a substitute judge by special appointment.
Barns died in Miami, Florida, from pulmonary fibrosis attributed to his military service.
References