Lenore C. Nesbitt, 69; First Female Federal Judge in Fla. District
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Lenore Carrero Nesbitt, 69, the first female judge appointed to the U.S. Southern District of Florida, died last Saturday of complications from brain cancer at her home in Coral Gables, Fla.
Nesbitt graduated first in her law class at the University of Miami in 1957, a time when few women entered the profession. Appointed to the federal court by President Ronald Reagan in 1983, Nesbitt rose to the rank of senior judge two years ago.
Her most famous trial was held in 1980, when five white police officers were charged in the beating death of Arthur McDuffie, a black insurance salesman.
She ordered the trial moved from Miami to Tampa, and called the case a “time bomb I don’t want to go off in my courtroom or this community.”
The case prompted riots.
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