James Waddey Clark

James Waddey "J.W." Clark (December 8, 1877 - February 24, 1939) was a Justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court from 1925 to 1933. He was born in Allisona, Williamson County, Tennessee to Joseph Poindexter and Cora Belle Waddey.[1][2] After finishing public school, James became a traveling salesman, then went into the mercantile business, and finally went into business for himself. He took a course in law in 1907 and 1908, then enrolled in Cumberland University (Lebanon, Tennessee) in 1909.[lower-alpha 1] By 1910, he had opened a law practice and won election to the Oklahoma legislature.[lower-alpha 2] In 1912, he was elected County Attorney for Atoka County, Oklahoma and was reelected after his first two-year term expired. In 1917, he returned to private law practice in Atoka, where he remained until he won election to the Oklahoma Supreme Court in 1924, filling a vacancy and taking office in 1925. He was reelected for a full 6-year term in 1926.[2]

James Waddey Clark
BornDecember 8, 1877
Allisona, Williamson County, Tennessee
DiedFebruary 24, 1939
Denison, Texas
Other namesJames W. Clark; J. W. Clark
OccupationMerchant; Politician; Attorney; Judge
Years active1910-1933
Known forJustice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court from 1925 to 1933.

In 1929, the Oklahoma Legislature attempted to impeach Clark, with the Oklahoma House of Representatives voting out eleven impeachment charges against Clark alleging corruption; however, he was acquitted by one vote in the Oklahoma Senate, and served out the remainder of his term.[5][6] After returning to private practice for a time, Clark again ran for a seat on the court in 1938,[7] but was not elected.

Personal and family life

Justice Clark married Anna Paullin in Durant, Oklahoma on May 1, 1917. They had four children: Ann Virginia (b. September 27, 1917); Jim (b. November 6, 1920); Mary Louise (b. October 1, 1924); John Marshall (b. October 12, 1926).[2]

Clark died in Denison, Texas, where he had been hospitalized for a kidney ailment.[8]

Notes
  1. Although Thoburn's account is not specific on the details, it suggests that James Clark graduated from Cumberland with a law degree and almost immediately moved to Oklahoma.[2] However, Harlow's version of Clark's biography states that he came to Oklahoma in 1906, initially settled in Atoka, Oklahoma, then received his LL B degree from Cumberland in 1909. He then spent four years in Caney, Oklahoma (1909-1912)[3]
  2. Thoburn states that Judge Clark was one of several prospective lawyers that trained under Judge John Linebaugh in Atoka, Oklahoma and who went on to great success in their legal careers.[4]

References
  1. "James Waddey Clark.".Political Graveyard." Accessed December 19, 2016.
  2. Thoburn, "Justice J. W. Clark." In: A Standard History of Oklahoma. p. 41. Accessed December 19, 2016.
  3. Harlow, Victor Emmanuel.Makers of Government in Oklahoma. 1930. pp.15. Accessed July 25, 2020.
  4. John Thoburn. History of Oklahoma Vol. 3. 1916. p. 1109 Accessed December 19, 2016.
  5. William Aylor Berry, James Edwin Alexander, Justice For Sale: The Shocking Scandal of the Oklahoma Supreme Court (1996), p. 79.
  6. James Shannon Buchanan, Chronicles of Oklahoma (1974), Vol. 52, p. 234.
  7. "Judge Clark Announces for Justice of Supreme Court", The Shawnee American (May 27, 1938), p. 1.
  8. "Former Judge Dies in Texas", The Daily Oklahoman (February 25, 1939), p. 1.
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