| Lewis F. Powell | |
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| In office January 7, 1972 – June 26, 1987 |
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| Nominated by | Richard M. Nixon |
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| Preceded by | Hugo Black |
| Succeeded by | Anthony Kennedy |
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| Born | September 19, 1907 Suffolk, Virginia |
| Died | August 25, 1998 (aged 90) Richmond, Virginia |
| Religion | Presbyterian |
Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr. Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are the members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States Events 1325 - Alfonso IV becomes King of Portugal. 1558 - France takes Calais, the last continental Year 1972 ( MCMLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian is killed during the retreat from the Sassanid Empire. Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) Hugo LaFayette Black (February 27 1886&ndashSeptember 25 1971 was an American politician and jurist. Anthony McLeod Kennedy (born July 23, 1936) has been an Associate Justice of the U Events 335 - Dalmatius is raised to the rank of Caesar by his uncle Constantine I. Year 1907 ( MCMVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Suffolk is an Independent city located in the South Hampton Roads area of eastern Virginia. Events 1248 - The Dutch city of Ommen receives city rights and fortification rights from Otto III the Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) This article is about the city of Richmond the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Presbyterianism is a family of Christian denominations within the Reformed branch of Protestant Western Christianity (September 19, 1907 – August 25, 1998) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Events 335 - Dalmatius is raised to the rank of Caesar by his uncle Constantine I. Year 1907 ( MCMVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 1248 - The Dutch city of Ommen receives city rights and fortification rights from Otto III the Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are the members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. He developed a reputation as a judicial moderate, and was known as a master of compromise and consensus-building. He was also widely well-regarded by contemporaries due to his personal good manners and politeness.
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Early life
Powell was born in Suffolk, Virginia. Suffolk is an Independent city located in the South Hampton Roads area of eastern Virginia. He attended Washington and Lee University, garnering both an undergraduate and a law degree from that university. Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington Virginia, USA He was elected president of student body as an undergraduate and was a member of Phi Kappa Sigma. Phi Kappa Sigma ( ΦΚΣ) is an international all-male college leadership and social fraternity. At a leadership conference, he met Edward R. Murrow and they became close friends. Edward R Murrow (born Egbert Roscoe Murrow; April 25 1908 &ndash April 27 1965) was an American journalist He attended Harvard Law School for a master's degree. Harvard Law School (also known as Harvard Law or HLS) is one of the professional Graduate schools of Harvard University.
During World War II, he spent more than three years in Europe and North Africa. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including He started as a First Lieutenant, and eventually rose to the rank of Colonel. He worked mostly in intelligence, decoding German messages.
Powell was a partner for over a quarter of a century at Hunton, Williams, Gay, Powell and Gibson, a large Virginia law firm, with its primary office in Richmond (now known as Hunton & Williams). This article is about the city of Richmond the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Founded in 1901 Hunton & Williams LLP is a US Law firm that employs more than 1000 Attorneys. He was the firm's managing partner for a number of years. Powell practiced primarily in the areas of corporate law (especially in the field of mergers and acquisitions) and in railway litigation law.
In 1936, he married Josephine Pierce Rucker, with whom he had three daughters and one son. Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. NOTICE TO WOULD-BE ROMEOS ************** Powell's wife died in 1996. Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar)
Virginia government
Powell also played an important role in local community affairs. From 1952 to 1961, he was Chairman of the Richmond School Board. This School division contains Public schools serving the Independent city of Richmond Virginia. Powell presided over the school board at a time when the Commonwealth of Virginia was locked in a campaign of defiance against the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education. Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, 347 US 483 (1954 was a Landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court, which overturned earlier (Interestingly, Powell's law firm had represented one of the defendant school districts in the case that was decided by the U. S. Supreme Court under the "Brown" label. Powell did not take any part in his law firm's representation of that client school district. The lawsuit, Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County, later became one of the five cases decided under the caption Brown v. Board of Education before the Supreme Court of the United States in 1954. Davis v County School Board of Prince Edward County (Docket number Civ Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, 347 US 483 (1954 was a Landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court, which overturned earlier The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) ) The Richmond School Board had no authority at the time to force integration, however, as control over attendance policies had been transferred to the state government. Powell, like most white Southern leaders of his day, did not speak out against the state's defiance, though he would foster a close relationship with many black leaders, such as civil rights lawyer Oliver Hill, some of whom offered key support for Powell's nomination. Oliver White Hill Sr ( May 1, 1907 &ndash August 5, 2007) was a Civil rights Attorney from Richmond Virginia Powell proudly swore in Virginia's first black governor, Douglas Wilder, in 1990. Lawrence Douglas Wilder (born January 17, 1931) is an American Politician and was the first African American to be elected Powell was President of the American Bar Association from 1964-1965, where he enjoyed an enormously productive tenure. The American Bar Association ( ABA) founded August 21 1878 is a voluntary Bar association of Lawyers and law students which is not specific Powell led the way in attempting to provide legal services to the poor, and he made a key decision to cooperate with the federal government's Legal Services Program.
Powell was involved in the development of Colonial Williamsburg, where he was both a trustee and general counsel. Colonial Williamsburg' is the historic district of the Independent city of Williamsburg Virginia. In 1971, he wrote the famous Powell Memo to a friend at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The Powell Memorandum, authored in 1971 was a memorandum written by Lewis Franklin Powell Jr The United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC is the world's largest not-for-profit business federation representing 3000000 businesses (via its Federation of local chambers The memo called for corporate America to become more aggressive in molding politics and law in the U. Corporate America is an informal phrase describing the world of Corporations within the United States not under government ownership S. and may have sparked the formation of one or more influential right-wing think tanks. A think tank (also called a policy institute) is an organization institute corporation or group that conducts Research and engages in advocacy in areas such
The Powell Memorandum
In August 1971, prior to accepting Nixon's request to become Associate Justice of Supreme Court, Lewis Powell had sent to the leadership of the U. S. Chamber of Commerce the "Confidential Memorandum", better known as the Powell Memorandum, and still under the radar of general public. It sounded an alarm with its title, "Attack on the American Free Enterprise System. " The previous decade had seen the increasing regulation of many industries and, as Powell argued, "The most disquieting voices joining the chorus of criticism came from perfectly respectable elements of society: from the college campus, the pulpit, the media, the intellectual and literary journals, the arts and sciences, and from politicians. " In the memorandum, Powell advocated "constant surveillance" of textbook and television content, as well as a purge of left-wing elements.
In an extraordinary prefiguring of the social goals of business that would be felt over the next three decades, Powell set his main goal: Changing how individuals and society think about the corporation, the government, the law, the culture, and the individual became, and would remain, a major goal of business.
He had been a board member of Philip Morris between 1964 until his appointment in 1971, and had acted as a contact point for the tobacco industry with the Virginia Commonwealth University. Through his law firm, Hunton Williams Gay Powell & Gibson (later just Hunton & Williams) he represented the Tobacco Institute and the various tobacco companies in numerous law cases.
Supreme Court tenure
In 1969, President Nixon asked him to join the Supreme Court; but Powell turned him down. Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. In 1971, Nixon asked him again. Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. Powell was unsure, but Nixon and his Attorney General, John Mitchell, persuaded him that joining the Court was his duty to his nation. John Mitchell may refer to Politics John N Mitchell (1913-1988 U One of the primary concerns Powell had was the effect leaving his law firm and joining the high court would have on his personal financial status, as he enjoyed a very lucrative private practice at his law firm.
He and William Rehnquist were nominated by President Nixon on the same day to serve on the Court. William Hubbs Rehnquist (October 1 1924 – September 3 2005 was an American lawyer, jurist, and a political figure who served as an Associate Justice Powell took over the seat of Hugo Black. Hugo LaFayette Black (February 27 1886&ndashSeptember 25 1971 was an American politician and jurist. On the day of Powell's swearing-in, when Rehnquist's wife Nan asked Josephine Powell if this was the most exciting day of her life, Josephine reportedly said, "No, it is the worst day of my life. I am about to cry. "
Lewis Powell served from January 7, 1972 until June 26, 1987, when he resigned. Events 1325 - Alfonso IV becomes King of Portugal. 1558 - France takes Calais, the last continental Year 1972 ( MCMLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian is killed during the retreat from the Sassanid Empire. Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar)
Powell compiled a decidedly moderate record on the Court, cultivating a reputation as a swing vote with a penchant for compromise. (The most detailed account of Justice Powell's Supreme Court tenure is in John Jeffries's biography Lewis F. John Calvin Jeffries Jr (born ca 1948 is a prominent law professor and has been Dean of the University of Virginia School of Law since 2001 Powell).
For example, his opinion in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) joined by no other justice, represented a compromise between the opinions of Justice William J. Brennan, who, joined by three other justices, would have upheld affirmative action programs under a lenient judicial test, and the opinion of John Paul Stevens, also joined by three justices, who would have struck down the affirmative action program at issue in the case under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Regents of the University of California v Bakke, 438 US 265 (1978 was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States on Affirmative William Joseph Brennan Jr ( April 25, 1906 &ndash July 24, 1997) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the John Paul Stevens (born April 20, 1920) is currently the most senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Origins The bill was introduced by President John F Kennedy in his civil rights speech of June 11 1963, in which he asked for legislation "giving Powell's opinion striking down the law urged that "strict scrutiny" be applied to affirmative action programs, while hinting that some affirmative action programs might pass Constitutional muster. Powell, who dissented in the case of Furman v. Georgia (1972), striking down capital punishment statutes, was a key mover behind the Court's compromise opinion in Gregg v. Georgia (1976), which allowed the return of capital punishment but only with procedural safeguards. Furman v Georgia, was a United States Supreme Court decision that ruled on the requirement for a degree of consistency in the application of the death penalty Gregg v Georgia, Proffitt v Florida, Jurek v Texas, Woodson v
In the notorious case of Snepp v. U. S. (1980), the Court issued a per curiam opinion imposing a constructive trust upon former CIA agent Frank Snepp and forcing him to preclear all his published writings with the CIA for the rest of his life. In Law, a per curiam decision (or opinion or per curiam) is a ruling issued by an Appellate court with multiple Judges in which the Frank Warren Snepp (born 3 May 1943, Kinston North Carolina) is a journalist and former chief analyst of North Vietnamese strategy for the Central Intelligence In 1997, Snepp gained access to the files of Justices Thurgood Marshall (who had already died) and William Brennan (who voluntarily granted Snepp access), and confirmed his suspicion that Powell had been the author of the per curiam opinion. Thurgood Marshall ( July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American Jurist and the first African American William Joseph Brennan Jr ( April 25, 1906 &ndash July 24, 1997) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Snepp later claimed Powell had never checked his own misstatements of the factual record against the actual case file and that the only Justice who even looked at the case file was John Paul Stevens, who relied upon it in composing his dissent. John Paul Stevens (born April 20, 1920) is currently the most senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. [1]
Bowers v. Hardwick
Powell was the swing vote in Bowers v. Bowers v Hardwick,, was a United States Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of a Georgia Sodomy law that criminalized Hardwick, , opting to go with the majority ruling which upheld Georgia's sodomy laws. A sodomy law is a Law that defines certain Sexual acts as sex crimes. He was reportedly distressed over how to vote. A conservative clerk advised him to uphold the ban, and Powell, who believed he had never met a gay person (not realizing that one of his own clerks was a closeted homosexual), voted to uphold Georgia's law, though Powell in a concurring opinion expressed concern at the length of the prison terms prescribed by the law. In the English language, gay is an Adjective that in modern usage refers to Homosexuality. [1] The Court, 17 years later, expressly overruled Bowers in Lawrence v. Texas, . Lawrence v Texas, 539 US 558 ( 2003) was a landmark United States Supreme Court case
In 1990, after his retirement from the Court, he said, "I think I made a mistake in the Hardwick case," marking one of the few times a justice expressed regret for one of his previous votes. Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) [2]
Powell also expressed post-retirement regret over his majority opinion in McCleskey v. Kemp, where he voted to uphold the death penalty against a study that demonstrated that - except as punishment for the most violent of crimes - people who killed whites were significantly more likely to receive the death penalty as punishment for their crimes than people who killed blacks. McCleskey v Kemp, 481 US 279 ( 1987) was a United States court case which eventually came before the Supreme Court of the United States Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the Killing of a person by judicial process as Punishment.
Retirement
Powell was nearly 80 years old when he retired from his position as Supreme Court justice. He was succeeded by Anthony Kennedy. Anthony McLeod Kennedy (born July 23, 1936) has been an Associate Justice of the U Kennedy was the third nominee for his position. The first, Robert Bork, was not confirmed by the Senate. Robert Heron Bork (born March 1, 1927) is a conservative American legal scholar who advocates the judicial philosophy of Originalism. The second, Douglas H. Ginsburg, withdrew his name from consideration after admitting to having smoked marijuana both as a college undergraduate and as a law professor with his students. Douglas Howard Ginsburg (born May 25, 1946) is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Following his retirement from the high court, Powell sat regularly on various United States Courts of Appeals around the country, especially enjoying sitting on circuit courts venued in temperate climes during the winter months. The United States courts of appeals (or circuit courts) are the intermediate appellate courts
Justice Powell died at his home in the Windsor Farms area of Richmond, Virginia, of pneumonia, at 4:30 in the morning of August 25, 1998, at the age of 90. Windsor Farms is a 20th-century neighborhood in Richmond Virginia of primarily Colonial Revival design This article is about the city of Richmond the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Events 1248 - The Dutch city of Ommen receives city rights and fortification rights from Otto III the Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) He is buried in Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery. This article is about the cemetery in Richmond Virginia for the cemetery in Hollywood California see Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
In her 2002 book, The Majesty of the Law, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote, "For those who seek a model of human kindness, decency, exemplary behavior, and integrity, there will never be a better man. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Sandra Day O'Connor (born March 26, 1930) is an American Jurist. "
Powell's personal and official papers were donated to Washington and Lee University Law School, where they are open for research subject to certain restrictions. Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington Virginia, USA
J. Harvie Wilkinson, currently a judge on Fourth Circuit, was a law clerk for Justice Powell. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit is a federal court located in Richmond Virginia with Appellate jurisdiction over the A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person who provides assistance to a Judge in researching issues before the Court and in writing opinions Wilkinson later wrote a book titled Serving Justice: A Supreme Court Clerk's View describing the experience.
External links
References
- ^ Frank Snepp, Irreparable Harm: A Firsthand Account of How One Agent Took On the CIA in an Epic Battle Over Secrecy and Free Speech (New York: Random House, 1999), 349-350.
| Legal offices | ||
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| Preceded by Hugo Black |
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States January 7, 1972 – June 26, 1987 |
Succeeded by Anthony Kennedy |
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