Richard Harding "Dick" Poff (October 19, 1923 – June 27, 2011) was an American politician and judge. He was first elected to the
United States House of Representatives in 1952 from
Virginia's 6th congressional district. An
attorney
Attorney may refer to:
* Lawyer
** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions
* Attorney, one who has power of attorney
* ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film
See also
* Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...
and a
Republican, he was given strong consideration for the
United States Supreme Court by
President Richard M. 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 t ...
and was later appointed as a justice (later senior justice) of the
Virginia Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrative ...
.
Early life and education
Born in
Radford,
Montgomery County, Virginia, Poff attended the local public schools and graduated from
Christiansburg High School
Christiansburg High School is located at 100 Independence Blvd. in Christiansburg, Virginia in the County of Montgomery and is located just minutes from Virginia Tech and Radford University. The school opened in 1906 and had its first graduati ...
. He then traveled to
Salem, Virginia
Salem is an independent city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,346. It is the county seat of Roanoke County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combin ...
for studies at
Roanoke College. After his military service below, Poff used his
GI bill
The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...
benefits, he earned a law degree (LL.B.) in 1948 from the
University of Virginia School of Law
The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...
at
Charlottesville.
Military service
During the
Second World War, Poff served as a bomber pilot with the
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Force ...
in
England; flew thirty-five successful missions over
Europe; awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross; was inactivated from the service as a first lieutenant serving from February 1943 to August 1945.
Legislative career
Poff was first elected to Congress in 1952, defeating incumbent
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 ...
Clarence G. Burton
Clarence Godber Burton (December 14, 1886 – January 18, 1982) was a U.S. Representative from Virginia.
Biography
Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Burton moved with his parents to Lynchburg, Virginia, at an early age.
He attended the public ...
. He was the first Republican to represent this part of Virginia since
Reconstruction, and likely owed his victory to
Dwight Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
carrying the state in that year's presidential election. However, the 6th had already been moving away from its Democratic roots for some time. The
Byrd Democrats in western Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley had begun splitting their tickets as early as the 1930s. He would never face another contest nearly as close as his first one, and was reelected nine times.
Poff had his share of controversy during his decades in the House of Representatives. He and
Joel Broyhill of Virginia were the only two Republicans, along with the rest of Virginia's entire Congressional delegation, and nearly all members from Southern states, to sign the
Southern Manifesto
The Declaration of Constitutional Principles (known informally as the Southern Manifesto) was a document written in February and March 1956, during the 84th United States Congress, in opposition to racial integration of public places. The manife ...
protesting the Supreme Court's mandate in ''
Brown v. Board of Education'' to
desegregate public schools.
Linwood Holton
Abner Linwood Holton Jr. (September 21, 1923October 28, 2021) was an American politician and attorney. He served as the 61st governor of Virginia, from 1970 to 1974, and was the first elected Republican governor of Virginia of the 20th century. ...
, former
Governor of Virginia (1970–1974), and the Commonwealth's first
post-Reconstruction Republican Governor, suggests that Poff likely could not have been reelected unless he had signed the manifesto. Despite that controversial decision, he was well liked by most of his constituents, most of whom had never been represented by a Republican before. This included many
African Americans, who in an
ABC News report on his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court described him as having a great interest in individuals; only one person in that report described him as a
racist
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
despite having signed the
Southern Manifesto
The Declaration of Constitutional Principles (known informally as the Southern Manifesto) was a document written in February and March 1956, during the 84th United States Congress, in opposition to racial integration of public places. The manife ...
. Consistent with his signing of the Manifesto, Poff voted against the
Civil Rights Acts of 1957,
1960
It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism.
Events
January
* Ja ...
,
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...
, and
1968
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
* Januar ...
, and the
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movement ...
, but voted in favor of the
24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In 1971, he voted for the
Equal Employment Opportunity Act
The Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 is a United States federal law which amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (the "1964 Act") to address employment discrimination against African Americans and other minorities. Specifically ...
and supported federal aid to accelerate the desegregation process. He was the only member of the House Republican leadership who did not support President Eisenhower's proposal to increase the
minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...
and widen its coverage. According to
John Dean, he was also the author of most of the
25th Amendment
The Twenty-fifth Amendment (Amendment XXV) to the United States Constitution deals with presidential succession and disability.
It clarifies that the vice president becomes president if the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office, a ...
to the Constitution of the United States while serving on the
Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Electoral history
*1952; Poff was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives with 51.55% of the vote, defeating Democrat Clarence Godber Burton.
*1954; Poff was re-elected with 62.31% of the vote, defeating Democrat Ernest Robertson and Social Democrat J.B. Brayman.
*1956; Poff was re-elected with 62.09% of the vote, defeating Democrat John L. Whitehead and Social Democrat Brayman.
*1958; Poff was re-elected with 56.74% of the vote, defeating Democrat Richard F. Pence and Social Democrat Brayman.
*1960; Poff was re-elected with 82.62% of the vote, defeating Social Democrat Brayman.
*1962; Poff was re-elected with 65.22% of the vote, defeating Democrat John P. Wheeler and now-Independent Brayman.
*1964; Poff was re-elected with 56.24% of the vote, defeating Democrat William B. Hopkins.
*1966; Poff was re-elected with 80.84% of the vote, defeating Democrat Murray A. Stoller.
*1968; Poff was re-elected with 92.16% of the vote, defeating Democrat Tom Hufford.
*1970; Poff was re-elected with 74.58% of the vote, defeating Democrat Roy R. White.
Nomination to Supreme Court of the United States
Before President Richard Nixon could formally nominate him for the U.S. Supreme Court, Poff withdrew (before nomination reached the Senate).
John Dean wrote that Poff actually made that decision based on concerns that he would thus be forced to reveal to his then-12-year-old son that he had been adopted. Poff's concern was that the child would be negatively affected by that kind of information if revealed before he was old enough to understand.
Nevertheless, according to ''
The New York Times'', within weeks after he withdrew from consideration that sensitive personal information was revealed in
Jack Anderson's column, and he was forced to inform the child of his adoption anyway.
By then, it was too late for reconsideration, and eventually
Lewis Powell, another Virginian, was confirmed to the Supreme Court in Poff's place.
In 1971, when under consideration for the Supreme Court, Poff said in a newspaper interview that he had supported the ''Southern Manifesto'' and opposed desegregation because he believed he would have otherwise been defeated for reelection to the U.S. House. He voiced regret over his opposition to past civil rights measures. Within a year of those comments, he resigned from the House to join the Virginia Supreme Court.
Legislation
Poff is also well known as one of the men who, as a member of the
House Judiciary Committee
The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, a ...
, sponsored the
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, better known as RICO. Poff had an interesting take on RICO, which has since been ignored by the Supreme Court. Poff stated in the
Congressional Record
The ''Congressional Record'' is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published by the United States Government Publishing Office and issued when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record Inde ...
that the Act should be used only against organizations, and not individuals.
Supreme Court of Virginia
Richard H. Poff went on to become Justice and then a Senior Justice of the
Virginia Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrative ...
, where he served until his retirement.
He died on June 27, 2011, in a life care center in
Tullahoma,
Tennessee.
Personal life
Poff married his first wife, Jo Ann Topper, in 1948. She died in 1978. They had three children. In 1980, he married his second wife, Jean Murphy, who died in 2007.
Legacy
The Richard H. Poff Federal Building in Roanoke, Virginia is named for Poff. It houses many of the primary federal offices in southwest Virginia, including the
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia
The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia (in case citations, W.D. Va.) is a United States district court.
Appeals from the Western District of Virginia are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth ...
and the
Department of Veterans Affairs. The
Roanoke Public Library maintains a collection of newsletters Congressman Poff sent to his constituents (1954-1971).
References
External sources
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Poff, Richard Harding
1923 births
2011 deaths
20th-century American judges
20th-century American lawyers
People from Radford, Virginia
Politicians from Roanoke, Virginia
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia
Roanoke College alumni
United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
United States Army officers
University of Virginia School of Law alumni
Virginia lawyers
Justices of the Supreme Court of Virginia
Signatories of the Southern Manifesto