Claude Harris Jr. (June 29, 1940 – October 2, 1994) was an American politician. 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 ...

from

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

, he served in 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from 1987 until 1993. He was succeeded in the House by Earl F. Hilliard.

Biography

Born in Bessemer, Alabama, Harris earned his B.S. at the

University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama. Developed from an academic extension center established in 1936, the institution became a four-year campus in 1966 and a fully autonomous univ ...

in 1962, graduated from

University of Alabama Law School The University of Alabama School of Law, (formerly known as the Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. School of Law at The University of Alabama) located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama is a nationally ranked top-tier law school and the only public law school in the st ...

in 1965 and served in the

Alabama Army National Guard The Alabama Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. National coordination of various state National Guard units are maintained through the National Guard Bureau. Alabama Army National ...

. He was an assistant district attorney in

Tuscaloosa County Tuscaloosa County is a county in the northwest-central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama and is the center of commerce, education, industry, health care, and entertainment for the region. The county's population was 227,036 as of the 2020 ...

until 1977 when he took seat as a state circuit judge. He stepped down from the bench in 1985 to run for Congress to succeed Richard Shelby, who ran for 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 ...

. Harris was elected three times in 1986, 1988, and 1990. He declined to run for reelection in 1992 after the legislature reconfigured his district into a

majority-minority district A majority-minority district is an electoral district, such as a United States congressional district, in which the majority of the constituents in the district are racial or ethnic minorities (as opposed to Non-Hispanic whites in the U.S.). Race ...

in compliance with provisions in the

Voting Rights Act 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 ...

, having little chance of being elected in the new district. After leaving Congress, Harris was appointed

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 ...

for the Northern District of Alabama under the new Clinton administration in 1993. Harris died of lung cancer on October 2, 1994, in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

. He was married to Barbara Harris; they had two sons.

References

External links

* * 1940 births 1994 deaths People from Bessemer, Alabama United States Attorneys for the Northern District of Alabama Alabama state court judges American prosecutors University of Alabama at Birmingham alumni University of Alabama School of Law alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Alabama 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American judges {{Alabama-state-judge-stub