- George Howard, Jr.
Infobox Judge
honorific-prefix = Honorable
name = George Howard, Jr.
honorific-suffix =
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office =United States District Court for the District of Arkansas, Eastern and Western Districts
term_start = 1980
term_end = 2007
nominator = PresidentJimmy Carter
appointer =
predecessor =
successor =
order2 =
office2 = Associate Judge of the Arkansas State Court of Appeals
term_start2 = 1979
term_end2 = 1980
nominator2 = GovernorBill Clinton
predecessor2 =
successor2 =
order3 =
office3 = Associate Justice, Arkansas State Supreme Court
term_start3 = 1977
term_end3 = 1979
nominator3 = GovernorDavid Pryor
appointer3 =
predecessor3 =
successor3 =
birth_date =May 13 1924
birth_place =Pine Bluff, Arkansas
death_date =April 21 2007
death_place =Pine Bluff, Arkansas
restingplace =
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party =
spouse = Vivian Howard
relations =
children = three daughters, one son
residence =
alma_mater = Lincoln University, University of Arkansas Law School
occupation = Judge, attorney
profession = legal
net worth =
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portfolio =
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website =
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data5 =George Howard, Jr. (
May 13 1924 -April 21 2007 ) was an AmericanWorld War II veteran, attorney, and federal judge. He was the firstAfrican-American U.S. District Court judge inArkansas . [ [http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=2992058&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1 First Black Federal Judge in Ark., George Howard Jr., Dies] ] He served first on theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas , and was then transferred to theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas . [ [http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/tGetInfo?jid=1102 Profile] from theFederal Judicial Center ] Howard played an important role in theWhitewater controversy , presiding over several Whitewater-related cases, including the separate trials of Jim andSusan McDougal once calling onPresident Bill Clinton to testify. [http://articles.latimes.com/2007/apr/25/local/me-passings25.3 federal judge presided over Whitewater cases] ]Early life
Howard was born in
Pine Bluff, Arkansas in 1924. As a teenager he left home to serve in theUnited States Navy during World War II, a time when he was subjected to racism that would inspire him to become alawyer . Howard completed his military service, finished high school, and went on to Lincoln University inJefferson City, Missouri , where he graduated with honors from their pre-law program. [http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aID=97870.42215.110012 State’s First Black Federal Judge, George Howard, Dead at 82] ] He then entered theUniversity of Arkansas and became the first African-American to live in campus housing at the school. Howard enrolled in law school at the university and received hisjuris doctorate in 1954. [http://www.house.gov/list/press/ar04_ross/morenews/042607howard.html Ross (AR04) - Floor Statements - In Memory of Judge George Howard Jr.] ] Howard then returned to Pine Bluff and established a law practice. During this period he ran his only political campaign, an unsuccessful city coucil bid, and served as president of the State Council of Branches for theNational Association for the Advancement of Colored People .Judicial career
Governor
Winthrop Rockefeller appointed Howard to the Arkansas State Claims Commission in 1967, a position he held until 1977, when GovernorDavid Pryor named himArkansas Supreme Court justice. In 1979 GovernorBill Clinton appointed Howard as a judge on theArkansas Court of Appeals . Howard would hold this position only briefly, as PresidentJimmy Carter appointed him federal judge for the Eastern and Western districts of Arkansas in 1980, a position he would hold until his death in 2007. Howard became the first African-American in the history of Arkansas to serve as a state Supreme Court justice, Court of Appeals judge, and federal judge. [http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aID=97870.42215.110012 State’s First Black Federal Judge, George Howard, Dead at 82 - ArkansasBusiness.com ] ] Judge Howard played an important judicial role in the Whitewater trial, which led to the downfall of then- Arkansas GovernorJim Guy Tucker [ [http://www.talkbusiness.net/Weblogs/WeblogItemDetail.aspx?WebLogItemID=70a13a3a-5b2d-47ca-b397-a41eff529866&WeblogID=2c1ca2ae-06e6-4883-9e3a-554f31d9db55&Type=0 JUDGE GEORGE HOWARD DIES] ] and theimpeachment of President Bill Clinton in 1998. [http://www.pbcommercial.com/articles/2007/04/22/news/news2.txt History-making federal judge dies at 82] ] During the Whitewater trials, Judge Howard called for video testimony from Clinton, the man who had appointed him to the court of appeals years earlier. [http://articles.latimes.com/2007/apr/25/local/me-passings25.3] ] Judge Howard was known for his fairness and commitment to civil rights, and made the daily drive from his home in Pine Bluff to Little Rock to carry out his judicial duties, despite being slowed in recent years by declining health.Arkansas Democrat Gazette ,July 4 ,2008 ]Legacy
Judge George Howard, Jr. died April 21, 2007, at Jefferson Regional Medical Center, after battling health issues for several years.http://www.pbcommercial.com/articles/2007/04/22/news/news2.txt] Three days later, on April 24, U.S. Representative
Mike Ross and Arkansas SenatorsBlanche Lincoln andMark Pryor introduced legislation before the House of Representatives and the Senate to rename the Pine Bluff federal building and courthouse after Judge Howard [ [http://www.house.gov/list/press/ar04_ross/042407howard.html Ross, Arkansas Delegation Seek to Honor U.S. District Court Judge George Howard, Jr. of Pine Bluff] .] Howard was honored on the floor of the House of Representatives on April 26, 2007. [http://www.house.gov/list/press/ar04_ross/morenews/042607howard.html Ross (AR04) - Floor Statements - In Memory of Judge George Howard Jr ] ] The legislation, now on the House floor as H.R. bill 2011, will rename the building on 100 East 8th Avenue in Pine Bluff as the George Howard, Jr. Federal Building and United States Courthouse. [ [http://www.house.gov/list/press/ar04_ross/morenews/062507courthouse.html GEORGE HOWARD, JR. FEDERAL BUILDING AND UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE] ] Howard, whose portrait hangs in the federal courthouses in Pine Bluff and Little RockArkansas Democrat Gazette, July 4, 2008] , has a scholarship fund maintained in his honor, The George Howard Junior Scholarship Fund at theWilliam H. Bowen School of Law ,University of Arkansas at Little Rock . http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aID=97870.42215.110012]References
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