Sam Hobbs | |
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 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromAlabama's4th district | |
| In office January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1951 | |
| Preceded by | Lamar Jeffers |
| Succeeded by | Kenneth A. Roberts |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Samuel Francis Hobbs (1887-10-05)October 5, 1887 |
| Died | May 31, 1952(1952-05-31) (aged 64) |
| Political party | Democratic |
Samuel Francis Hobbs (October 5, 1887 – May 31, 1952) was aUnited States Representative fromAlabama.
Born inSelma, Alabama, Hobbs attended the public schools, Callaway's Preparatory School, Marion (Alabama) Military Institute, andVanderbilt University atNashville, Tennessee, graduating from the law department of theUniversity of Alabama at Tuscaloosa in 1908. He wasadmitted to the bar in 1908 and commenced practice in Selma. He was appointed judge of the fourth judicial circuit of Alabama in 1921.
Hobbs was elected to the same office in 1923 and served until his resignation in 1926. He then resumed the practice of law. He served as chairman of the Muscle Shoals Commission in 1931 and of the Alabama National Recovery Administration Committee in 1933.
Hobbs was elected as aDemocrat to theSeventy-fourth and to the seven succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1951). Throughout his congressional service, Hobbs was closely allied withJ. Edgar Hoover, head of theFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Hobbs was advised by Hoover aideAlexander Holtzoff, who called himself "Hobbs's brain trust."[1] In 1941, at the behest of Hoover, Hobbs introduced a bill that would have legalizedwiretapping by the FBI, or any other government agency, if it was suspected that afelony was occurring.[2] The bill was supported by Attorney GeneralRobert H. Jackson, and seemed likely to pass, untilFederal Communications Commission (FCC) chairmanJames Lawrence Fly testified against the bill to Congress, and it did not pass. The conflict was much discussed in the national news.[3] Hobbs also passed a bill that would have deported labour leaderHarry Bridges. The case was appealed to theU.S. Supreme Court where the deportation order was canceled. Hobbs was one of the managers appointed by the House of Representatives in 1936 to conduct the impeachment proceedings againstHalsted L. Ritter, judge of theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Sam Hobbs successfully introduced theHobbs Act of 1946, which criminalized at least three distinct forms of criminal conduct: robbery, extortion by force, fear or threat, and extortion under color of law. Codified in18 U.S.C. § 1951, it is frequently used today in federal prosecutions. Hobbs formed a friendship withArchibald Clark Kerr, 1st Baron Inverchapel while living in Washington DC.
Hobbs did not seek renomination in 1950, but returned toSelma, Alabama and reestablished his law practice. He died in Selma in 1952 and was interred inLive Oak Cemetery.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromAlabama's 4th congressional district 1935–1951 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
