James D. Johnson
Encyclopedia
James Douglas Johnson, known as Justice Jim Johnson (August 20, 1924 – February 13, 2010), was a former associate justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court
, a two-time candidate for governor of Arkansas in 1956 and 1966, and in 1968 an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate
.
, the seat of Ashley County in southern Arkansas
, near the Louisiana
line. Johnson was said to have admired the political style of Huey Pierce Long, Jr., but was to Long's political right. In 1950. Johnson was elected to the Arkansas State Senate and served until January 1957. In 1956, he did not run again for the legislature because he challenged Governor Orval Eugene Faubus
in the Democratic Party
primary. Johnson accused the segregationist
Faubus of working behind the scenes for racial integration
. Johnson finished second in the pivotal Democratic primary with 83,856 votes (26.9 percent). Faubus then defeated the Republican
Roy Mitchell to win a second consecutive two-year term as governor.
Being a lifelong staunch segregationist Johnson also played a role in the Little Rock Nine
crisis. He was elected to the Arkansas Supreme Court in 1958 and served until 1966, when he resigned to run again for governor. During his legal career, his wife, Virginia Lillian Morris Johnson
(January 21, 1928 – June 27, 2007), a Conway
native whom he married in 1947, served as his legal secretary
.
of Little Rock
finished third with 64,814 (15.4 percent). Another former U.S. representative, Dale Alford
, who had unseated Hays as a write-in candidate
in 1958, ran fourth with 53,531 votes (12.7 percent). Prosecuting attorney Sam Boyce of Newport
ran fifth with 49,744 (11.8 percent), and Raymond Rebasen finished last with 35,607 votes (8.5 percent). In the runoff primary, Johnson prevailed with 210,543 ballots (51.9 percent) to Holt's 195,442 votes (48.1 percent). However, Johnson then lost the general election
, 257,203 votes (45.6 percent) to the moderate Republican Winthrop Rockefeller
, who polled 306,324 ballots (54.4 percent). Rockefeller was a younger brother of New York
Governor
Nelson A. Rockefeller, later a Vice President of the United States
. Jim Johnson won majorities in forty counties to Rockefeller's thirty-five counties. Every major population center supported Rockefeller, who prevailed in the northwestern counties, in Little Rock, and in many eastern counties with large African American
populations. Black voters provided Rockefeller's margin of victory.
Johnson then ran against incumbent J. William Fulbright
in the 1968 Democratic primary for the Senate
but was again defeated, 132,038 (31.7 percent) to 220,684 (52.5 percent); a third candidate, Bobby K. Hays, received the remaining 12.7 percent. Fulbright then defeated the Republican nominee, Charles T. Bernard
, a farmer and businessman from Earle
in Crittenden County in eastern Arkansas, who is believed to have drawn considerable support from Johnson's former primary voters.
Johnson's then 40-year-old wife, Virginia, meanwhile, ran for the governorship in the same primary election, making her the first woman in Arkansas to run for governor. She lost the nomination by a wide margin in a runoff with State Representative
Marion H. Crank (1915–1994) of Foreman
in Little River County
, who was in turn narrowly defeated by Rockefeller in the general election. Another candidate in the primary was former Arkansas Attorney General
Bruce Bennett
of El Dorado
, who was first elected in 1956, the year that Johnson challenged Faubus. Bennett himself unsuccessfully opposed Faubus in the 1960 gubernatorial primary.
in 2007, and Johnson himself was stricken with the same disease. Ironically, their old intraparty rival, Faubus, also spent his last years in Conway.
In the 1980s, Jim and Virginia Johnson supported the reelection of Governor Frank D. White
, only Arkansas' second Republican governor since Reconstruction. White, however, was unseated after one two-year term by Bill Clinton
, with whom Johnson had a long-standing enmity. While he had been a student at Georgetown University
in Washington, 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."
During the Whitewater scandal, Johnson made accusations against Clinton based on a continuing opposition research
campaign conducted by Republican political consultants, Floyd Brown
and David 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 under plea bargaining to secure a better deal on his own indictment
for fraud.
, and Joseph Daniel of Conway.
Johnson's life story and death were remarkably similar to that of an unrepentant segregationist leader in Louisiana, William M. Rainach
of Claiborne Parish
, a state legislator and an unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate in his state's 1959 primary election.
Arkansas Supreme Court
The Arkansas Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Arkansas. Since 1925, it has consisted of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices, and at times Special Justices are called upon in the absence of a regular justice...
, a two-time candidate for governor of Arkansas in 1956 and 1966, and in 1968 an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
.
Early years
Johnson was a native of CrossettCrossett, Arkansas
Crossett is the largest city in Ashley County, Arkansas, United States, with a population of 5,507, according to 2010 Census Bureau estimates. Combined with North Crossett and West Crossett, the population is 10,752...
, the seat of Ashley County in southern Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, near the Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
line. Johnson was said to have admired the political style of Huey Pierce Long, Jr., but was to Long's political right. In 1950. Johnson was elected to the Arkansas State Senate and served until January 1957. In 1956, he did not run again for the legislature because he challenged Governor Orval Eugene Faubus
Orval Faubus
Orval Eugene Faubus was the 36th Governor of Arkansas, serving from 1955 to 1967. He is best known for his 1957 stand against the desegregation of Little Rock public schools during the Little Rock Crisis, in which he defied a unanimous decision of the United States Supreme Court by ordering the...
in the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
primary. Johnson accused the segregationist
Racial segregation in the United States
Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...
Faubus of working behind the scenes for racial integration
Desegregation
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...
. Johnson finished second in the pivotal Democratic primary with 83,856 votes (26.9 percent). Faubus then defeated the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Roy Mitchell to win a second consecutive two-year term as governor.
Being a lifelong staunch segregationist Johnson also played a role in the Little Rock Nine
Little Rock Nine
The Little Rock Nine was a group of African-American students who were enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. The ensuing Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school by Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus, and then...
crisis. He was elected to the Arkansas Supreme Court in 1958 and served until 1966, when he resigned to run again for governor. During his legal career, his wife, Virginia Lillian Morris Johnson
Virginia Johnson (Arkansas)
Virginia Lillian Morris Johnson , was, in 1968, the first woman to seek the office of governor of Arkansas.-Early years:...
(January 21, 1928 – June 27, 2007), a Conway
Conway, Arkansas
Conway is the county seat of Faulkner County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 58,908 at the 2010 census, making Conway the seventh most populous city in Arkansas. It is a principal city of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area which had...
native whom he married in 1947, served as his legal secretary
Legal secretary
A legal secretary is a particular category of worker within the legal profession.In the practice of law in the United States, a legal secretary is person who works in the legal profession, typically assisting lawyers. Legal secretaries help by preparing and filing legal documents, such as appeals...
.
Campaigns of 1966 and 1968
In 1966, Johnson entered the Democratic gubernatorial primary and led the six-candidate field with 105,607 votes (25.1 percent). He went into a runoff election with fellow former Justice J. Frank Holt (born ca. 1910), who polled 92,711 votes (22.1 percent). Liberal former U.S. Representative Brooks HaysBrooks Hays
Lawrence Brooks Hays was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from the State of Arkansas....
of Little Rock
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
finished third with 64,814 (15.4 percent). Another former U.S. representative, Dale Alford
Dale Alford
Thomas Dale Alford, Sr. was an ophthalmologist and politician from the U.S. state of Arkansas who served as a conservative Democrat in the United States House of Representatives from Little Rock from 1959 to 1963....
, who had unseated Hays as a write-in candidate
Write-in candidate
A write-in candidate is a candidate in an election whose name does not appear on the ballot, but for whom voters may vote nonetheless by writing in the person's name. Some states and local jurisdictions allow a voter to affix a sticker with a write-in candidate's name on it to the ballot in lieu...
in 1958, ran fourth with 53,531 votes (12.7 percent). Prosecuting attorney Sam Boyce of Newport
Newport, Arkansas
Newport is a city in Jackson County, Arkansas, northeast of Little Rock, on the White River. In 1900, 2,866 people lived in Newport, Arkansas; in 1910, 3,557. The population was 7,811 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Jackson County....
ran fifth with 49,744 (11.8 percent), and Raymond Rebasen finished last with 35,607 votes (8.5 percent). In the runoff primary, Johnson prevailed with 210,543 ballots (51.9 percent) to Holt's 195,442 votes (48.1 percent). However, Johnson then lost the general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
, 257,203 votes (45.6 percent) to the moderate Republican Winthrop Rockefeller
Winthrop Rockefeller
Winthrop Rockefeller was a politician and philanthropist who served as the first Republican Governor of Arkansas since Reconstruction. He was a third-generation member of the Rockefeller family.-Early life:...
, who polled 306,324 ballots (54.4 percent). Rockefeller was a younger brother of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
Governor
Governor of New York
The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...
Nelson A. Rockefeller, later a Vice President of the United States
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
. Jim Johnson won majorities in forty counties to Rockefeller's thirty-five counties. Every major population center supported Rockefeller, who prevailed in the northwestern counties, in Little Rock, and in many eastern counties with large African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
populations. Black voters provided Rockefeller's margin of victory.
Johnson then ran against incumbent J. William Fulbright
J. William Fulbright
James William Fulbright was a United States Senator representing Arkansas from 1945 to 1975.Fulbright was a Southern Democrat and a staunch multilateralist who supported the creation of the United Nations and the longest serving chairman in the history of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee...
in the 1968 Democratic primary for the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
but was again defeated, 132,038 (31.7 percent) to 220,684 (52.5 percent); a third candidate, Bobby K. Hays, received the remaining 12.7 percent. Fulbright then defeated the Republican nominee, Charles T. Bernard
Charles T. Bernard
Charles Taylor Bernard, Sr. , is a former American politician and businessman from Earle in Crittenden County in eastern Arkansas, best known as the 1968 Republican nominee for the United States Senate seat held by long-time Democratic incumbent J...
, a farmer and businessman from Earle
Earle, Arkansas
Earle is a city in Crittenden County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 3,036 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Earle is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land....
in Crittenden County in eastern Arkansas, who is believed to have drawn considerable support from Johnson's former primary voters.
Johnson's then 40-year-old wife, Virginia, meanwhile, ran for the governorship in the same primary election, making her the first woman in Arkansas to run for governor. She lost the nomination by a wide margin in a runoff with State Representative
Arkansas House of Representatives
The Arkansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the state. Each district has an average population of 26,734...
Marion H. Crank (1915–1994) of Foreman
Foreman, Arkansas
Foreman is a city in Little River County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 1,011 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Foreman is located at ....
in Little River County
Little River County, Arkansas
Little River County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2010, the population was 13,171. The county seat is Ashdown. Little River County is Arkansas's 59th county, formed from Sevier County on March 5, 1867, and named for the Little River...
, who was in turn narrowly defeated by Rockefeller in the general election. Another candidate in the primary was former Arkansas Attorney General
Arkansas Attorney General
The Arkansas Attorney General is an executive position and constitutional officer within the Arkansas government. The Attorney General is the chief law enforcement/legal officer and lawyer for Arkansas. The position is elected every four years, e.g...
Bruce Bennett
Bruce Bennett (Arkansas politician)
Bruce Bennett was a Democratic politician from El Dorado, Arkansas, who served as his state's attorney general from 1957–1960 and from 1963–1966...
of El Dorado
El Dorado, Arkansas
El Dorado , a multi-cultural arts center: South Arkansas Arts Center , an award-winning renovated downtown, and numerous sporting, shopping, and dining opportunities. El Dorado is the population, cultural, and business center of the 7,300 mi² regional area...
, who was first elected in 1956, the year that Johnson challenged Faubus. Bennett himself unsuccessfully opposed Faubus in the 1960 gubernatorial primary.
Later years
The Johnsons resided in Conway until their deaths, three years apart. Virginia was Jim Johnson's legal secretary for his entire law career. She died of cancerCancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in 2007, and Johnson himself was stricken with the same disease. Ironically, their old intraparty rival, Faubus, also spent his last years in Conway.
In the 1980s, Jim and Virginia Johnson supported the reelection of Governor Frank D. White
Frank D. White
Frank Durward White was the 41st Governor of the U.S. state of Arkansas since Reconstruction. He served a single two-year term from 1981 to 1983. He is one of only two people to have defeated President Bill Clinton in an election. Frank Durward White (June 4, 1933 – May 21, 2003) was...
, only Arkansas' second Republican governor since Reconstruction. White, however, was unseated after one two-year term by Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, with whom Johnson had a long-standing enmity. While he had been a student at Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, 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."
During the Whitewater scandal, Johnson made accusations against Clinton based on a continuing opposition research
Opposition research
Opposition research is:# The term used to classify and describe efforts of supporters or paid consultants of a political candidate to legally investigate the biographical, legal or criminal, medical, educational, financial, public and private administrative and or voting records of the opposing...
campaign conducted by Republican political consultants, Floyd Brown
Floyd Brown
Floyd Gregory Brown is an American author, speaker and media commentator. He is president of Excellentia Inc., a consulting company specializing in non-profit organizational strategy, development and marketing. Brown has also worked as a political consultant and conducted opposition research for...
and David Bossie
David Bossie
David N. Bossie is an American political activist. Since 2000 he has been President and Chairman of conservative advocacy organization Citizens United.-Early life:...
. 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 under plea bargaining to secure a better deal on his own indictment
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
for fraud.
Death
Lt. Matt Rice of the Faulkner County Sheriff's Office reported that Johnson was found dead about 10 a.m. Saturday, February 13, 2010, at his home off Beaverfork Lake with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. Rice said a rifle was found, and authorities had no reason to suspect foul play. Johnson reportedly had ongoing medical problems. The Johnsons had three sons, Mark of Little Rock, John David of FayettevilleFayetteville, Arkansas
Fayetteville is the county seat of Washington County, and the third largest city in Arkansas. The city is centrally located within the county and is home to the University of Arkansas. Fayetteville is also deep in the Boston Mountains, a subset of The Ozarks...
, and Joseph Daniel of Conway.
Johnson's life story and death were remarkably similar to that of an unrepentant segregationist leader in Louisiana, William M. Rainach
William M. Rainach
William Monroe Rainach, Sr., known as Willie Rainach , was a state legislator from rural Summerfield in Claiborne Parish who led Louisiana's "Massive Resistance" to desegregation during the last half of the 1950s...
of Claiborne Parish
Claiborne Parish, Louisiana
Claiborne Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Homer and as of 2000, the population is 16,851.-History:The parish is named for the first Louisiana governor, William C. C. Claiborne....
, a state legislator and an unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate in his state's 1959 primary election.