Scott Silverman Mediator and Arbitrator, JAMS Mediation, Arbitration & ADR Services
On Oct. 15, James T. Sanders, a judge in South Florida’s 11th Judicial Circuit, died. The 51- year-old, two-year judicial veteran of the criminal court languished in a hospital room for 10 days before succumbing to the pandemic’s wrath. Sanders, one of the best-known lawyers in Dade County, died in 1918, a victim of the “Spanish Influenza” pandemic that was in the midst of ravaging the world’s population and was now taking its toll throughout Florida.
Judge James T. Sanders of Miami who died during the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918. Courtesy of Florida Memory
While our country fought the pandemic domestically, it also faced deadly challenges beyond its borders as doughboys battled Imperial Germany and other foes in Europe during the waning days of World War I. An armistice would be reached less than a month later on Nov. 11, 1918.
