Alcee L. Hastings

Biography

Alcee Lamar Hastings (September 5, 1936 – April 6, 2021) was an American politician and judge from the state of Florida. Hastings was nominated to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida by President Jimmy Carter in August 1979. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 31, 1979. In 1981, after an FBI sting operation, Hastings was charged with conspiracy to solicit a bribe. Following a 1983 criminal trial, Hastings was acquitted; however, he was impeached for bribery and perjury by the United States House of Representatives in 1988 and was convicted by the United States Senate in his impeachment trial on October 20, 1989. While Hastings was removed from the bench, the Senate did not bar him from holding public office in the future. Hastings was the first and, as of 2025, remains the only African American federal official to be impeached. A Democrat, Hastings was first elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1992, serving until his death in 2021. His district, numbered as the 23rd district from 1993 to 2013 and the 20th district from 2013 until his death, included most of the majority-black precincts in and around Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. Following Ileana Ros-Lehtinen's departure from office in 2019, Hastings became the dean of Florida's congressional delegation; he retained this title until his death.