Heartsill Ragon (; March 20, 1885 – September 15, 1940) was a
United States representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
from
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
and a
United States district judge
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...
of the
.
Education and career
Born on March 20, 1885, in Dublin, (an unincorporated community in Cane Creek Township,
Logan County Logan County is the name of ten current counties and one former county in the United States:
* Logan County, Arkansas
* Logan County, Colorado
* Logan County, Idaho (1889–1895)
* Logan County, Illinois
* Logan County, Kansas
* Logan County, K ...
),
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
, Ragon attended the common schools,
Clarksville High School, the College of the Ozarks (now the
University of the Ozarks
University of the Ozarks (U of O) is a private university in Clarksville, Arkansas. Enrollment averages around 900 students, representing 25 countries. U of O is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
History
University of the Oz ...
) in Clarksville and graduated from the
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...
in
Fayetteville.
He received a
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
in 1908 from the
Washington and Lee University School of Law
The Washington and Lee University School of Law (W&L Law) is the professional graduate law school of Washington and Lee University. It is a private American Bar Association-accredited law school located in Lexington in the Shenandoah Valley reg ...
.
He was admitted to the bar in 1908 and entered private practice in
Clarksville, Arkansas from 1908 to 1923.
He was a member of the
Arkansas House of Representatives
The Arkansas State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the ...
from 1911 to 1913.
He was district attorney in Clarksville from 1916 to 1920.
Party political posts
Ragon was Secretary of the Democratic Arkansas state convention in 1918, Chairman of the Democratic Arkansas state convention in 1920, and a delegate to the
1920 Democratic National Convention
Nineteen or 19 may refer to:
* 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20
* one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019
Films
* ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film
* ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film
Music ...
.
Congressional service
Ragon was elected as a
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 ...
to the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
of the
68th United States Congress
The 68th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1923 ...
and to the five succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1923, until his resignation effective June 16, 1933, having been appointed to the federal bench.
Federal judicial service
Ragon was nominated by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
on May 12, 1933, to a seat on the
vacated by Judge
Frank A. Youmans.
He 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 ...
on May 12, 1933, and received his commission on May 17, 1933.
His service terminated on September 15, 1940, due to his death in
Fort Smith, Arkansas.
He was interred in Forest Park Cemetery in Fort Smith.
United States v Miller
In 1939, Ragon authored an opinion in United States v. Miller, 26 F. Supp. 1002, stating that a federal statute violated the
Second Amendment
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...
. Ragon was in reality, in favor of the gun control law and was part of an elaborate plan to give the government a sure win when they appealed to the supreme court which they promptly did. Miller, who was a known bank robber, had just testified in court against his whole gang and would have to go into hiding as soon as he was released. Ragon knew that Miller would not pay for an attorney to argue the case at the supreme court and so the government would have a sure win because the other side would not show up. The plan worked perfectly.
"The Peculiar Story of United States v. Miller" by Brian L. Frye
/ref> His opinion was reversed by the United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
in ''United States v. Miller
''United States v. Miller'', 307 U.S. 174 (1939), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States that involved a Second Amendment to the United States Constitution challenge to the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA). The cas ...
'' (1939).
References
Sources
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ragon, Heartsill
1885 births
1940 deaths
20th-century American judges
Arkansas lawyers
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Arkansas
Democratic Party members of the Arkansas House of Representatives
Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas
United States district court judges appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt
People from Clarksville, Arkansas
University of the Ozarks alumni
University of Arkansas alumni
Washington and Lee University School of Law alumni