Archibald Cox

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Archibald Cox bigraphy, stories - Generals

Archibald Cox : biography

May 17, 1912 – May 29, 2004

Archibald Cox, Jr. (May 17, 1912Some sources say he was born May 12, 1912. – May 29, 2004) was an American lawyer and law professor who served as U.S. Solicitor General under President John F. Kennedy. He became known as the first special prosecutor for the Watergate scandal. During his career, he was a pioneering expert on labor law and also an authority on constitutional law. The Journal of Legal Studies has identified Cox as one of the most cited legal scholars of the 20th century.

Death and legacy

Cox died at his home in Brooksville, Maine, of natural causes. Sam Dash, chief counsel to the Senate Select Committee to Investigate Campaign Practices during the Watergate scandal, died the same day.

The New York Times wrote, "a gaunt 6-footer who wore three-piece suits, Mr. Cox was often described as ‘ramrod straight,’ not only because of his bearing but also because of his personality."

Cox was the great-grandson of William M. Evarts, who defended President Andrew Johnson during his impeachment hearing and became Secretary of State in Rutherford B. Hayes’ administration. He was also a direct descendant of Roger Sherman, a Connecticut signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Notes

Post-Watergate career

After Nixon’s resignation, Cox became chairman of Common Cause, a major public-interest advocacy organization. He also became the founding chairman of the Health Effects Institute.

Cox also returned to Harvard Law School, where he taught constitutional law and a seminar on the First Amendment for many years. Before he had gone to Washington in 1973, he had a reputation as a tough and sometimes harsh teacher, but after his return, he had a reputation as a humorous, considerate, and gentle teacher who won the admiration and affectionate regard of his students. After he retired from Harvard, he received a special appointment to the faculty of Boston University School of Law. In 1974 he spent a year at the University of Cambridge as the Pitt Professor of American History and Institutions.

Cox also continued his career as an expert appellate advocate. In 1976, Cox argued Buckley v. Valeo before the Supreme Court; at issue in this case was the constitutionality of post-Watergate legislation establishing public financing for presidential election campaigns. The Court upheld most of the provisions of the campaign finance law, giving Cox a significant victory. During 1977 and 1978, Cox also argued the case of Regents of the University of California v. Bakke before the Court, defending the University of California at Davis medical school’s affirmative action system of admissions against constitutional challenge. The Justices divided, with four voting to end the system as invalid under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 without any need to reference the constitutional issue, and four voting to uphold affirmative action as constitutional; Justice Lewis Powell cast the deciding vote, referencing the constitutional issue and holding that in some cases race could be deemed a valid factor in admissions to institutions of higher education.

In 1979, when a vacancy opened on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (which includes Cox’s home state of Massachusetts), Senator Edward M. Kennedy proposed Cox for the vacancy. This proposal from the senior senator of the state most affected by the choice of judge ordinarily would have won Cox the appointment, but the administration of President Jimmy Carter resisted the choice since Cox had not supported Carter for President, and ultimately Cox was not appointed to the vacancy.

Among Professor Cox’s many honors was his being made, in 1991, an honorary member of the Order of the Coif. Professor Cox also received the Paul Douglas Ethics in Government Award and the Thomas "Tip" O’Neill Citizenship Award. In 1997, Cox was the subject of a biography entitled Archibald Cox: Conscience of a Nation by Ken Gormley. The book focuses on Cox’s long and distinguished career as a public servant.