John Griffith Davies
(17 May 1929
– 24 March 2020)
was an Australian-American swimmer and United States federal judge. As a
breaststroke
Breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and that it can be s ...
swimmer
Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...
of the 1940s and 1950s, he won a gold medal in the 200-metre breaststroke at the
1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...
in
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
, set a world record in the 200 yard breaststroke (short course)
[Cedar Rapids Gazette 29 March 1952 Page 4] and tied the world record in the 200 m breaststroke (long course). After retiring from competition swimming, he became a lawyer in
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
and, after becoming a naturalized American, was appointed 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
by President
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
in 1986, and presided over the trial of the
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
officers charged with assaulting
Rodney King
Rodney Glen King (April 2, 1965June 17, 2012) was an African American man who was a victim of police brutality. On March 3, 1991, he was beaten by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers during his arrest after a pursuit for driving whi ...
.
Swimming career
Davies entered and won both breaststroke events at the 1946
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
Championships held at
Manly. He began to train under
Forbes Carlile
Forbes Carlile MBE (3 June 19212 August 2016) was Australia's first post-World War II Olympics swimming coach and later Australia's first competitor in the modern pentathlon at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. He remains the only person to ...
in 1947 and won the 220yd breaststroke at the Australian Championships, as well as helping New South Wales to win the 3x110yd
medley relay. He repeated these victories at the 1948 Australian Championships, earning selection to the
1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...
in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
at the age of 19. In the lead up to the Games, he won two races in London. Davies came in second in his heat and fourth in his semifinal with an Australian record 2m 44.8s to qualify for the final of the 200m breaststroke. Davies set a new Australian record in the final, finishing 4th and recording a time of 2m 43.7s. His time was faster than the bronze medallist's but the judges ranked him as 4th.
After the Games, Davies enrolled at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
in
Ann Arbor
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, where he trained under the guidance of coach
Matt Mann
Matthew "Matt" Mann II (1884–1962) was a British-born American college swimming coach and was coach of the men's swim team in the 1952 Summer Olympics that won four gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze medal.
He learnt to swim at eight ...
and became a two time
All American. Without scholarship support being available for swimmers during that era, he pursued a
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
degree, while supporting himself by washing dishes and working at the International Student Centre. Mann also altered Davies's style, changing from the even-paced racing of Carlile to an early-attack oriented style of swimming. Davies managed a second placing at the 200yd breaststroke at the
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
Championships in 1948 but failed to place in 1949 and 1950. In 1951 he won the 200m breaststroke at the AAU National Outdoor Championships and in 1952 won the 200yd breaststroke short course at the
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
Championships setting a new world record of 2:21.9
and the 200m Breaststroke AAU National Indoor Championship. The
Australian Olympic Federation
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Au ...
granted him an exemption from the Australian Championships and selected him for the
1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...
in Helsinki. He trained with fellow team member
John Marshall
John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...
at
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
under coach
Robert Kiphuth while the rest of the Australian team trained in
Townsville
Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...
.
Davies arrived in Helsinki as the favourite after setting the 200-yard breaststroke (short course) world record
earlier in the year, but after a poor time trial a week before the Games, he was forced to restrict his training to under a kilometre per day and sleep for 20 hours daily. Davies was not the fastest qualifier in the heats but broke the Olympic record set by
Jerry Holan in the prelims. Swimming in his even-paced style, Davies trailed by more than 2 seconds at the 100m mark, but overhauled his rivals, pipping the United States'
Bowen Stassforth
Bowen Dow Stassforth (August 7, 1926 – November 22, 2019) was an American competition swimmer who won a silver medal in the 200 m breaststroke at the 1952 Olympics and set two world records in the 200-yard (long course) breaststroke. and one w ...
by 0.3s to reset his new Olympic record and tie the existing world record (long course) time of 2m 34.4s set by
Herbert Klein of Germany who was third. Davies, Stassforth, and Klein were the only three swimmers to better 2:35 in history in the 200 m breaststroke (long course) prior to the bifurcation of the stroke in 1953.
Legal career
Davies graduated from the
UCLA School of Law
The UCLA School of Law is one of 12 professional schools at the University of California, Los Angeles. UCLA Law has been consistently ranked by '' U.S. News & World Report'' as one of the top 20 law schools in the United States since the inception ...
in 1959.
He became a U.S. citizen in 1960.
[
On 22 April 1986, Davies was nominated by ]U.S. president
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
to a seat on the vacated by Cynthia Holcomb Hall
Cynthia Holcomb Hall (February 19, 1929 – February 26, 2011) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central Di ...
. Davies was confirmed
In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...
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 6 June 1986, and received his commission on 9 June 1986.
In January 1991, Davies found that the no obscenity clause in National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...
grants violated the Constitution's Free Speech Clause
The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents the government from making laws that regulate an establishment of religion, or that prohibit the free exercise of religion, or abridge the freedom of speech, th ...
. In April 1996, Davies overturned the state conviction of Charles Keating
Charles Humphrey Keating Jr. (December 4, 1923 – March 31, 2014) was an American sportsman, lawyer, real estate developer, banker, financier, conservative activist, and convicted felon best known for his role in the savings and loan sca ...
for his involvement in the savings and loan scandal due to flawed jury instructions. In June 1998, Davies mediated the $400 million settlement which Merrill Lynch
Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment bank ...
agreed to pay for its role in causing the Orange County, California
Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...
bankruptcy.
In 1993, Davies presided over the federal retrial of four Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
officers for the beating of Rodney King
Rodney Glen King (April 2, 1965June 17, 2012) was an African American man who was a victim of police brutality. On March 3, 1991, he was beaten by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers during his arrest after a pursuit for driving whi ...
.[ Two officers, ]Stacey Koon
Stacey Cornell Koon (born November 23, 1950) is an American convicted criminal and former sergeant with the Los Angeles Police Department. He is one of the four police officers who were responsible for beating Rodney King in 1991. He was sentence ...
and Laurence Powell were convicted. The United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines
The United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines are rules published by the U.S. Sentencing Commission that set out a uniform policy for Sentence (law), sentencing individuals and organizations convicted of Classes of offenses under United States f ...
recommend the offenders serve up to ten years in prison. Instead, Davies sentenced the offenders to 30 months.[ Davies' sentencing was vacated by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in August 1994 for violating the sentencing guidelines.][ In February 1996, that judgment was itself reversed by the ]Supreme Court of the United States
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 ...
, which found that Davies had not abused his discretion.
Davies faced widespread public criticism for the lightness of the sentences he delivered to the former police officers.[
Congressional representative ]Maxine Waters
Maxine Moore Waters (née Carr; born August 15, 1938) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 1991. The district, numbered as the 29th district from 1991 to 1993 and as the 35th district from 1993 to 2013, incl ...
called the sentences a "kiss on the wrist". Joseph Duff
Joseph M. Duff Jr. (January 28, 1889 – October 10, 1918) was an All-American football player and coach who was killed in action during World War I. Duff graduated from Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania before enrolling ...
of the ACLU
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
called the sentencing "a travesty of Justice".
Later life
Davies died on March 24, 2020, at the age of 90, from cancer.
Retired U.S. District Court Judge Robert C. Bonner
Robert Cleve Bonner (January 29, 1942) is an American lawyer and arbitration neutral, a former prosecutor, former United States District Judge, former Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration and former Commissioner of United States ...
said of his former colleague: “He was one of the best federal judges ever to serve, and to my knowledge the only Olympics gold medalist to become a federal judge. In my view, he was ‘the Judge who saved L.A. with his superb handling of the federal civil rights trial of the police who beat Rodney King. We have lost a great judge and a good friend. He was also a masterful trial lawyer before his appointment to the bench.”
Honours
Davies was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame
The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...
in 1984, and the Sport Australia Hall of Fame
The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser th ...
in 1992. He received an Australian Sports Medal
The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...
in 2000.
Record Notes
The world record for the 200-meter breaststroke prior to the bifurcation of the butterfly breaststroke into separate strokes in 1953 could be accomplished in either short or long course pools. FINA recognized only one world record for the 200-meter breaststroke. The 1952 US Olympic Book lists the 200-meter breaststroke world record as belonging to Herbert Klein with a time of 2:27.3 who swam it in a short course pool. If records were measured as they are today in long and short course pools, Davies tied Herbert Klein's long course world record of 2:34.4 for the 200-meter breaststroke set on August 13, 1950, in Göppingen, Germany at their 1952 Olympic final.''Es fehlt noch die Goldmedaille''
in Spiegel Online
''Der Spiegel (online)'' is a German news website. Before the renaming in January 2020, the website's name was ''Spiegel Online'' (short ''SPON'').
It was founded in 1994 as the online offshoot of the German news magazine, ''Der Spiegel'', wit ...
See also
* List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
The International Swimming Hall of Fame
The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests a ...
* List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
This is the complete list of men's Olympic medalists in swimming.
Men's events 50 metre freestyle
100 metre freestyle
200 metre freestyle
400 metre freestyle
800 metre freestyle
1500 metre freestyle
100 metre backstroke
200 metre ...
* World record progression 200 metres breaststroke
The first world record in the men's 200 metres breaststroke in long course (50 metres) swimming was recognised by the International Swimming Federation (FINA) in 1908 and the first world record in the women's 200 metres breaststroke ...
References
Sources
*
*
* Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Swimming (Men): 200-Meter Breaststroke". In ''The Complete Book of the Olympics – 2008 Edition''. London: Aurum Press, Limited. p. 929.
External links
Official website of John Davies
*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, John
1929 births
2020 deaths
California lawyers
Australian emigrants to the United States
Judges of the United States District Court for the Central District of California
Michigan Wolverines men's swimmers
Olympic gold medalists for Australia
Olympic swimmers of Australia
Australian male breaststroke swimmers
Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees
Swimmers at the 1948 Summer Olympics
Swimmers at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Swimmers from Sydney
United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan
20th-century American judges
UCLA School of Law alumni
Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists in swimming
People with acquired American citizenship