"John Kerry, the Lawyer"

I don't intend this post to be a debate on the campaign (there are a thousand other websites where you can do that, so let's steer clear of it here), but this article got me thinking: who was the last US president to have "prosecutor" on his resume? Has there been one? I'm drawing a blank ...

Grover Cleveland was an assistant D.A. He was defeated in his attempt to become D.A.

Dan Moody was a Travis/Williamson County DA who went on to become AG and then Governor of Texas. Isn't that better than President?

Although he was not a prosecutor per se, Richard Nixon's work on the HUAC shows that he would have been a great one. His pursuit and capture of Alger Hiss is the equivalent of convicting OJ, Kobe and Lizzie Borden rolled into one.

I know Bill Clinton was elected AG, but I think he also was an assistant da prior to that . . .

John (Rolater), I can find no reference to Clinton using his legal skills as an ADA, though he taught law at the University of Arkansas before running for AG. Maybe it should be mentioned that after Cleveland lost his bid for DA in November, 1865 he later personally executed two murderers (as Erie County Sheriff). New York carried out the death penalty in those days.

[This message was edited by Martin Peterson on 07-06-04 at .]

I lived in Arkansas from 90 - 97 I don't recall it ever being said that Clinton had once been an ADA.

As a follow-up ... if it's been 100+ years since someone with prosecutorial experience has ended up in the Oval Office, why do you think that is? IMO, many non-prosecutors think of our line of work as a politician-in-waiting kind of job, but regardless of whether that is generally true or not, it sure doesn't seem to be true for those aiming for the Big Kahuna's seat. I wonder why?

(p.s. - Thanks to all of you for allowing me to exercise my inner history geek)

I did look around for something to back up my hazy memory. There is nothing in Clinton's bio in the White House website, nor is there anything in his bio on biography.com regarding that. In my defense, I did try to hedge on the earlier post a bit . . . but I guess that might depend on what the meaning of is is . . .

LAT: "Kerry's Crime-Fighting Early Days"

"The public has yet to learn much about Kerry's six years as a practicing attorney. But that is about to change.

Beginning at the Democratic National Convention this month, the Kerry campaign plans to highlight this part of his resume to help show that he has the toughness to be the nation's chief executive. Republicans, meanwhile, say that will hardly deter them from continuing to depict Kerry as a fuzzy-headed, unreformed liberal."

What will this mean for our profession? Anyone care to hazard a guess ...?

The governor of New Jerse apparently started off with a brief stint as a prosecutor. His career ended in an unusual manner this week and that was mentioned in the last paragraph. Read the story.

There is already talk of who would replace Kerry if he should be president. Notice that the list includes a potential candidate listed as a former prosecutor:


BOSTON - Massachusetts Republicans, while supportive of President Bush's re-election, are mindful of the opportunity created should John Kerry beat him in November's election: the state's first Senate vacancy in two decades and a chance to break the Democratic monopoly on its 12-member delegation in Congress.

"We don't think there's going to be a race because we all feel that President Bush has the right agenda and the right message and he's going to win in November," said Timothy O'Brien, executive director of the state Republican Party.

Still, "in the case there is a race, we're going to recruit the best candidate," he said.

In the small universe of Massachusetts Republicans, the options are limited but strong, GOP insiders say.

Among the names mentioned are: Gov. Mitt Romney and Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey; White House chief of staff Andy Card, a former state lawmaker; former U.S. Attorney Wayne Budd; former Suffolk County District Attorney Ralph Martin; Bush fund-raiser Chris Egan, and GOP activist and attorney Gloria Larson.

It is clear, from the last 100 year history, that those who spend time getting thru YALE, HARVARD, PRINCETON, ETC. don't want to really have to work for a living!!!!

How Kerry described his first three years of law practice after graduating from Boston College Law School in 1976: "I always had a prosecutor's mind and a prosecutor's bent. It was always what I wanted to do, even in law school. There was a rule in Massachusetts that allowed law students to prosecute misdemeanor trials in front of six-person juries, and I got an unbelievable amount of experience before I even graduated." Guess he changed his mind shortly thereafter.

The last governor of Texas to hold a law degree was Mark White. Before Gov. White, one must go all the way back to "Big John" Connally in 1963 to find the next chief executive of Texas to be licensed to practice law. Neither White nor Connally ever toiled as a prosecutor, however. I think the current highest ranking former prosecutor is Sen. Arlen Spector of Pennsylvania. After President Bush(the sound of it is still sweet!), Spector, more than any other American, will be responsible for the configuration and direction of the US Supreme Court, provided he assumes the chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee as he is in line to do. Look for Hon. Alberto Gonzales to be the President's first nominee should a seat on the court become vacant.

There was another president who served as a prosecutor after all. Samuel Houston began his legal career as a prosecutor in Tennesee in 1819.

Between 1788 and 1800, my history book states that after settling in Nashville Andrew Jackson "became a public prosecutor, raised cotton, served in Tennessee's first constitutinal convention, and won elections to both houses of Congress and to the Superior Court of Tennessee."

Let's see....

Calvin Coolidge was City Solicitor for Northhampton, Massachusetts (I'm not sure whether that counts or not) from 1900 to 1902.

William Howard Taft was an Assistant Prosecutor for Hamilton County, Ohio from 1880 to 1882. He later went on to be Solicitor General for the United States.

William McKinley served as prosecuting attorney of Stark County, Ohio from 1869 to 1871.

Rutherford B. Hayes was City Solicitor for Cincinnati, Ohio from 1858-1860.

Drew, let me be the first to welcome you to the TDCAA user forum! As a former history major (BA 1990) and admitted history geek (hence this topic in the first place), it's good to see your first post be in that vein.

Since Martin was kind enough to resurrect this thread, let's keep it going -- who on the current slate of candidates was a prosecutor before running for prez? I know Giuliani was a USA in NYC; are there any others?

Wasn't Fred Thompson the DA in New York City? I think Sam Waterston was his Asst.DA. I saw it on TV so I know it's true.