James Douglas Johnson | |
|---|---|
| Associate Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court | |
| In office 1959–1966 | |
| Preceded by | William J. Smith |
| Succeeded by | Guy Amsler |
| Member of theArkansas Senate from the Twenty-second district | |
| In office January 12, 1953[1] – 1957 | |
| Preceded by | (redistricting)[2] |
| Succeeded by | Gaither C. Johnston |
| Constituency | Ashley and Chicot counties |
| Member of theArkansas Senate from the Twenty-seventh district | |
| In office January 8, 1951[3] – January 12, 1953[1] | |
| Preceded by | Ohmer C. Burnside[4] |
| Succeeded by | (redistricting)[5] |
| Constituency | Ashley and Chicot counties |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1924-08-20)August 20, 1924 Crossett,Arkansas, U.S. |
| Died | February 13, 2010(2010-02-13) (aged 85) Conway, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic (1950–80) Independent (1980–83) Republican (1983–2010) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Mark Johnson John David Johnson Joseph Daniel Johnson |
| Education | Cumberland University |
| Occupation | Attorney, politician |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service | United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1942 |
| Rank |  Corporal |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
James Douglas Johnson (August 20, 1924 – February 13, 2010), known as "Justice Jim"Johnson, was an Arkansas legislator and jurist known for outspoken support ofracial segregation during the mid-20th century. He served as an associate justice of theArkansas Supreme Court from 1959 to 1966, and in theArkansas Senate from 1951 to 1957. Johnson unsuccessfully sought several elected positions, includingGovernor of Arkansas in 1956 and1966, theUnited States Senate in1968, and Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court in 1976, 1980, and 1984.[6] Asegregationist, Johnson was frequently compared toGeorge Wallace ofAlabama.[7] He joined theRepublican Party in 1983.
Johnson was a native ofCrossett in southernArkansas near theLouisiana state line. He was the son of T. W. and Myrtlenée Long Johnson, who owned and operated a grocery store in the sawmill town. DuringWorld War II, Johnson was drafted into theUnited States Marine Corps, serving in thePacific Theater. After the war, Johnson attendedCumberland University, marriedConway-native Virginia Lillian Morris, and returned to Crossett to start a law practice.[8] She would serve as his legal secretary for the rest of her life.
Johnson was said to have admired the political style ofHuey Long, but was to Long's political right.[citation needed] His interest in politics grew following the1948 Democratic National Convention and formation of theDixiecrat party.[8] When formerGovernor of ArkansasBenjamin T. Laney recommended Johnson run for office, he sought the District 27 seat in theArkansas Senate, which coveredAshley andChicot counties. He was seated in the 58th Arkansas General Assembly.[3]
Following theUnited States Supreme CourtBrown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, Johnson sought to use segregation as awedge issue for many campaigns thereafter. He brought theCitizens' Councils to Arkansas to stoke thewhite backlash created in the wake of Brown v. Board, and seized on the pending integration ofHoxie School District as ahot-button issue ahead of the1956 gubernatorial election. Johnson also drafted and flogged aninterposition amendment to theArkansas Constitution and usedred-baiting to raise the temperature around integration in Hoxie and raise his public profile.[8]
In 1956, Johnson declined to run for another term in the legislature, instead seeking to challenge incumbent GovernorOrval Faubus in theDemocratic primary during theSolid South period, in which winning the Democratic primary wastantamount to election. Johnson accused thesegregationist Faubus of working behind the scenes for racialintegration, but finished a distant second with 83,856 votes (26.9%) Faubus went on to handily defeatRepublican Roy Mitchell in the1956 gubernatorial election for a second two-year term as governor.[citation needed]
Being a staunch and lifelong segregationist, in 1955, in response to school integration occurring inHoxie, Johnson proposed an amendment to the Arkansas constitution that would prohibit integration.[9] Johnson also played a role in theLittle Rock Nine crisis. He claimed to have hoaxed Governor Faubus into calling out the National Guard, supposedly to prevent a white mob from stopping the integration ofLittle Rock Central High School: "There wasn't any caravan. But we made Orval believe it. We said. 'They're lining up. They're coming in droves.' ... The only weapon we had was to leave the impression that the sky was going to fall." He later claimed that Faubus asked him to raise a mob to justify his actions.[7] He was elected to the Arkansas Supreme Court in 1958 and served until 1966, when he resigned to run again for governor.
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Johnson made four more bids for office, all unsuccessful.[8] In 1968, he sought the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in the Democratic Primary againstJ. William Fulbright while his wife, Virginia, sought the Democratic nod in the Governor's race to challenge the reelection of 1966 foe Rockefeller. Both lost, yet Johnson headed the third party effort of former Alabama GovernorGeorge Wallace while running for the Senate as a Democrat. In 1972, he lent key support to SenatorJohn McLellan in a tight runoff against RepresentativeDavid Pryor. He passed on a second run against Fulbright in 1974, opting instead to support the comeback bid ofOrval Faubus for Governor, which he lost to Pryor.
In 1976, he unsuccessfully challenged the re-election bid of Chief Justice Carleton Harris of the Arkansas Supreme Court, but lost with 44% of the vote. In 1980, expressing alarm that Pulaski County Circuit Judge Richard Adkisson, who Johnson considered tooliberal, would succeed Harris as Chief Justice, Johnson mounted a petition drive to get on the ballot as anIndependent, but fell short of the required signatures. Adkisson won the Democratic primary and was unopposed in the general election.
After his son, Mark Johnson, was appointed to the cabinet of Governor Frank White (a Republican), Johnson hinted he would switch parties. In 1983 he did so and ran as the GOP nominee for Chief Justice in 1984, but lost by a 58-42% margin to Jack Holt, Jr., a nephew of Frank Holt, whom Johnson had defeated for the gubernatorial nomination in 1966.
In the 1982, Jim and Virginia Johnson supported the re-election of GovernorFrank D. White, Arkansas' second Republican governor sinceReconstruction. White, however, was unseated byBill Clinton, after a single term. Johnson had a long-standing enmity with Clinton. While he had been a student atGeorgetown University inWashington, D.C., Clinton was a campaign aide for Johnson's 1966 runoff opponent, Judge Frank Holt. Twelve years later, Clinton would win the governorship. In reference to Johnson's overtly racist views and dirty campaign tactics, Clinton once told Johnson, "You make me ashamed to be from Arkansas."[10] Years later, Johnson replied that he was ashamed Arkansas had produced "a president of the United States who is a queer-mongering, whore-hopping adulterer; a baby-killing, draft-dodging, dope-tolerating, lying, two-faced, treasonous activist."[7] He also appeared inJerry Falwell’sThe Clinton Chronicles and was a paid consultant for theArkansas Project.[7]
During theWhitewater controversy, Johnson made accusations against Clinton based on a continuingopposition research campaign conducted by Republican political consultants,Floyd Brown andDavid Bossie. A client of Johnson's, David Hale, a former municipal court judge, was the special prosecutor's chief witness attempting to link Clinton to the Whitewater scandal. Hale's testimony was deemed to have been of no import, as he had agreed to testify underplea bargaining to secure a better deal on his ownindictment for fraud.[11]
Unlike George Wallace, who repented of his segregationist past, Johnson doubled-down during his 1966 campaign for Governor, infamously refused to shake hands with black voters. Endorsed by theKu Klux Klan, he campaigned against "mongrelization" — a stance for which he never apologized. In 1996, he said: "I have to admit that I have not grown to the point where I am not uncomfortable when I see a mixed couple. It causes me discomfort. But I say in the same breath that when I see a drunk it causes me discomfort."[7]
The Faulkner County Sheriff's Office reported that Johnson was found dead about 10 a.m. on Saturday, February 13, 2010, at his home off Beaverfork Lake with aself-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. Rice said a rifle was found, and authorities had no reason to suspect foul play. He had been suffering from cancer.[7][12]
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| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Arkansas 1966 | Succeeded by |
