David J. Cannon (August 6, 1933 – July 26, 2011) was an American attorney who served as

Milwaukee County District Attorney The Milwaukee County District Attorney is a state constitutional officer responsible for criminal prosecution in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. The current district attorney is John T. Chisholm, who has served since 2007. History The first Milwau ...

from 1968 to 1969 and as

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the Eastern District of Wisconsin from 1969 to 1973. Cannon was the last

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to serve as Milwaukee County District Attorney.

Early life and career

Cannon was born in Milwaukee and attended

Marquette University High School Marquette University High School (MUHS) is a private, all-male, Jesuit, Roman Catholic school located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is accredited by the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), an acc ...

. He graduated from

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...

in 1955 before serving in the

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's security agency. In 1960, Cannon received his law degree from

Marquette University Law School Marquette University Law School is the professional graduate law school of Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is one of two law schools in Wisconsin and the only private law school in the state. Founded in 1892 as the Milwaukee Law ...

and entered private practice. He gained notoriety for successfully challenging the authority of Wisconsin district attorneys, and Milwaukee County's corporation counsel, to issue arrest warrants in

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cases. In 1966, he was hired as a Milwaukee County prosecutor by District Attorney

Hugh O'Connell Hugh O'Connell (August 4, 1898 – January 19, 1943) was an American film actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in m ...

. When O'Connell was elected to the

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and the 45th most populous coun ...

Circuit Court in April 1968, Republican Governor

Warren Knowles Warren Perley Knowles III (August 19, 1908 – May 1, 1993) was an American lawyer and politician, and was the 36th Governor of Wisconsin. Prior to that, he was the 32nd and 34th Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin, and represented St. Croix, ...

appointed Cannon to succeed him.

Tenure in public office and later career

As district attorney, Cannon sought to modernize the office's technology and to redirect its resources against

white-collar crime The term "white-collar crime" refers to financially motivated, nonviolent or non-directly violent crime committed by individuals, businesses and government professionals. It was first defined by the sociologist Edwin Sutherland in 1939 as "a ...

. He prosecuted John Oraa Tucker, a Milwaukee man accused of fatally shooting a police officer during the city's 1967 civil unrest; although Tucker was convicted of several related felonies, he was acquitted of homicide. Additionally, Cannon faced an uphill election battle in the fall of 1968, facing

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

E. Michael McCann Edward Michael McCann (born 1936) is an American attorney and politician who served as district attorney of Milwaukee County, Wis. from 1969 to 2007. A Democrat, McCann gained recognition for the length of his tenure and his successful record as ...

, a former assistant district attorney. In the November general election, McCann defeated Cannon with a margin of approximately 12,000 votes. In 1969, President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

nominated Cannon to serve as

for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, replacing James B. Brennan. Cannon's nomination was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

in June 1969 and he took office in July. While in office, Cannon pursued federal charges in connection to an incident of

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in 1968 and conducted a

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investigation into the activities of the Balistrieri underworld family. Cannon resigned from office on November 16, 1973 and returned permanently to private practice. Cannon practiced law in Milwaukee with the firm

Michael Best & Friedrich LLP Michael Best & Friedrich LLP (commonly, referred to as "Michael Best") is a U.S. national law firm with more than 300 attorneys across 19 domestic offices. The firm ranked 169th on ''The American Lawyer''s 2021 Am Law 200 rankings. History Mic ...

, working to expand the firm's

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section. He also served as president of the Milwaukee Bar Association in the early 1980s and chaired the board of Federal Defender Services of Wisconsin. Cannon died of lung cancer on July 26, 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cannon, David J. 1933 births 2011 deaths Lawyers from Milwaukee Military personnel from Wisconsin Wisconsin Democrats Marquette University alumni Marquette University Law School alumni Milwaukee County District Attorneys United States Attorneys for the Eastern District of Wisconsin 20th-century American lawyers