Jesse Johnson Finley (November 18, 1812 – November 6, 1904) was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and a member of the United States House of Representatives from Florida, following the reconstruction era. He also served as mayor of Memphis, Tennessee; an volunteer officer in the United States Army during the Second Seminole War; a member of the Arkansas Senate; a member of the Florida Senate; and a Circuit Court Judge in Florida. Early life (1812 to 1852) Finley was born near Lebanon, Tennessee. He served as captain of mounted volunteers in the Second Seminole War in 1836. Finley studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1838. He moved to Mississippi County, Arkansas in 1840, where he practiced law. Finley served in the Arkansas Senate in 1841. He moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 1842, and continued the practice of law. He served as mayor of Memphis in 1845. He moved to Marianna, Florida in November 1846 and was elected to the Florida Senate in 1850. Finley was a presidential elector on the Whig Party ticket in 1852. Judicial Service to the State of Florida (1853 to 1861) On May 1, 1853, Florida Governor Thomas Brown appointed Finley Circuit Judge of the Western Judicial Circuit of Florida. Finley served as a Circuit Judge of the Western Judicial Circuit of Florida from 1853 to 1861. State of Florida v. Simon, A Slave In June 1853, Finley presided over State of Florida v. Simon, A Slave. The case involved an arson and a confession under duress. The Collins Hotel in Pensacola, Florida burned on October 17, 1852; the Collins fire spread to the home of Francisco Moreno. On October 18, Dr. R.T. Maxwell's home burned, and an alleged arson attempt was made to the home of a Mrs. Derry, from which a perpetrator was discovered and fled. On October 19, Alex McVoy's home burned. After the McVoy fire, Pensacola Mayor Joseph Sierra ordered the arrest of Simon, one of McVoy's slaves, for arson. Sierra questioned Simon in the Mayor's office; took Simon's confession to arson of the Maxwell, Derry, and McVoy homes; and ordered Simon arrested. Simon was held in the Pensacola jail from October 1852 until trial in June 1853. Sierra testified at the June trial that during Simon’s interrogation "there was a great crowd just outside the mayor’s office calling for Simon