Mike Bowers

Early Life

Michael Joseph Bowers (born 1942 in Commerce, Georgia)^[1] was a long-serving Attorney General of Georgia before switching parties and mounting an unsuccessful campaign for Georgia Governor. He now practices law with Balch & Bingham in Atlanta, Georgia.

Bowers graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1963 and served in the United States Air Force from 1963-70. He earned a law degree from the University of Georgia in 1974, and then worked as an assistant state attorney general until his appointment as Attorney General in 1981. He resigned in June 1997 to run for governor.

Attorney General

Bowers was known as a very active and fearless Attorney General. He did not come from a privileged background and his public service exhibited a populist flair.^[2] He vigorously opposed conflicts of interests by public officials and contractors that might undermine loyalty to the citizenry and the public's confidence in state government. For instance, despite fierce opposition from entrenched interests, Bowers was successful in convincing the courts that, due to an inherent conflict of interests, state legislators who were lawyers could not sue the state.^[3]

Corruption Fighter

Although the Georgia Attorney General has limited law enforcement authority, Bowers was also vocal in fighting crime.^[4] Bowers vigorously opposed public corruption. His targets included long-serving Georgia Labor Commissioner Sam Caldwell, whom he prosecuted for fraud.^[5] Bowers also prosecuted powerful highway construction companies for bid-rigging practices that were anti-competitive.^[6]

At the end of his tenure, one newspaper described Bowers' service as follows: "Unquestioned integrity and dedication to principles have been hallmarks of his administration, even though his unwillingness to compromise has angered politicians and constituents."^[7] Another well-known Georgia political commentator stated that in Bowers "we have come to expect an unconstrained, outspoken and active attorney general."^[8]

Affair

Bowers' political ambitions were derailed when, during his campaign for the 1998 Republican gubernatorial nomination, he admitted he had a decade-long extramarital affair with his secretary, a former Playboy Club waitress. Anne Davis stated the romance had been active as recently as six weeks prior to Bowers' June 5, 1997 announcement.^[9] Bowers went on to lose the 1998 Republican primary to Guy Millner, finishing with 39.92 percent of the vote compared with Millner's 50.38 percent.^[10]

Bowers vs Hardwick

Never one to shy from controversy, Bowers fulfilled the duties of his office by defending the constitutionality of a Georgia criminal sodomy statute in a test case brought by the ACLU. The Plaintiff was Michael Hardwick, who had been arrested by the Atlanta Police Department on several charges, including violation of the state sodomy statute. Hardwick was not prosecuted for the sodomy charge, but the courts ruled that he nevertheless had standing to challenge the constitutionality of the statute. The United States Supreme Court upheld the statute in Bowers v. Hardwick (1986).^[11] The Georgia statute that Michael Hardwick had challenged was overturned by the Georgia Supreme Court in a subsequent case in 1998.^[12] The U.S. Supreme Court later essentially overturned its Bowers ruling in a 2003 decision, Lawrence v. Texas.^[13] However, during Bowers' tenure as Attorney General, the Georgia law remained on the books and legally enforceable.

Shahar v. Bowers

Bowers faced controversy again in 1991 when he rescinded a hiring offer to a lesbian, Robin Shahar, for an assistant attorney general position because she had stated in her job application that she was planning to marry another woman (which was forbidden by state law). Shahar sued Bowers, but the courts ruled that Bowers had not violated her constitutional rights in rescinding the job offer.^[14]

Private Practice

Since leaving public office, Bowers has achieved remarkable success in his private law practice. In one notable case, he successfully sued Fulton County, Georgia for discrimination against several library employees who were given job reassignments because of their race. Bowers recovered one of the largest verdicts in Georgia legal history.^[15] And Bowers led the merger of his Atlanta-based firm into the larger Alabama-based firm of Balch & Bingham.^[16]

References

1. ^ Kathey Alexander & Bill Montgomery, "The Bowers Disclosure Damage Control," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 7, 1997.
2. ^ Adele Brinkley, "Bowers sets forth his ideas for Georgia," Henry Herald, February 7, 1997 (in a political speech, Bowers stated that he was the grandson of a sharecropper who bled to death from lack of medicial care and that his dad was a truck driver).
3. ^ Georgia Dept. of Human Resources v. Sistrunk, 249 Ga. 543 (1982).
4. ^ Michael J. Bowers, "Let's face the facts and fight crime together," Atlanta Downtown Times, February 14, 1997; Frank LoMonte, "Bowers' '98 theme: longer prison sentences," Augusta Chronicle, June 23, 1996.
5. ^ Caldwell v. State, 171 Ga. App. 680 (1984); "Convicted Georgia Aide Vows to Oust Witness," New York Times, April 28, 1984; "Sam Caldwell, Ex-Labor Commish Dies," AP Online, March 4, 2001 (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-42528812.html).
6. ^ State v. Shepherd Const. Co., 248 Ga. 1 (1981).
7. ^ "Bowers Action sets example and creates opportunity for others," Athens Daily News, May 6, 1997.
8. ^ Bill Shipp, "Test time for new Att. Gen.," Marietta Daily Journal, May 28, 1997.
9. ^ Our Georgia History
10. ^ "National News Briefs; Republican Concedes in Georgia Primary", The New York Times, July 29, 1998.
11. ^ 478 U.S. 186 (1983).
12. ^ Powell v. State, 270 Ga. 327 (1998).
13. ^ 539 U.S. 558 (2003).
14. ^ Shahar v. Bowers, 114 F.3d 1097 (11th Cir. 1997).
15. ^ Bogle v. McClure, 332 F.3d 1347 (11th Cir. 2003).
16. ^ http://www.balch.com/.

External links

• Balch & Bingham profile

Persondata
Name	Bowers, Michael J
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1942
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death