Hastings, Alcee

Hastings, Alcee (Lamar) (1936–  ) lawyer, judge, U.S. representative; born in Altamonte Springs, Fla. After taking his B.A. at Fisk (1958) he earned his law degree in Florida A&M (1963). He had a private law practice in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (1963–77) before becoming a circuit court judge for Broward County (1977–79). He then became a federal judge for the Southern District of Florida (1979–89) and by this time he was one of the most popular and active African-Americans in his part of Florida, participating in countless community affairs and receiving countless honors. By the early 1980s, charges surfaced that he had accepted bribes to influence sentences; tried in 1983, he was acquitted by a jury. But in October 1989 he was impeached by the U.S. Senate on eight articles and forced off the federal bench—the sixth federal judge so removed. Returning to private practice, he sought popular vindication and in 1992 was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.