David Hall (October 20, 1930 – May 6, 2016) was an American Democratic politician. He served as the 20th

governor of Oklahoma The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma Executive (government), executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The gover ...

from January 11, 1971, to January 13, 1975. Prior to winning election as governor, Hall served as county attorney for

Tulsa County Tulsa County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 669,279, making it the second-most populous county in the state, behind only Oklahoma C ...

and as a law professor at the

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a Private university, private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Presbyterian Church, although it is now nondenominational, and the campus ...

. After leaving office, Hall was convicted of

bribery Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or Offer and acceptance, acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official ...

and

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

. He became the first Oklahoma governor to be convicted of criminal acts committed during his tenure. He served 19 months of a three-year sentence at the

federal prison A federal prison is operated under the jurisdiction of a federal government as opposed to a state or provincial body. Federal prisons are used for people who violated federal law (U.S., Mexico), people considered dangerous (Brazil), or those sen ...

Safford, Arizona Safford (Western Apache language, Western Apache: Ichʼįʼ Nahiłtį́į́) is a city in Graham County, Arizona, Graham County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the population of the city is 10,1 ...

Early life

David Hall was born in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, and was the son of William Arthur "Red" Hall and Aubrey Nell French. Hall attended Classen High School in Oklahoma City, where he played on the 1948 Class A high school basketball State Championship team. He graduated

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

from the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

in 1952; he was a member of

Phi Gamma Delta Phi Gamma Delta (), commonly known as Phi Gam and sometimes written as FIJI, is a North American social fraternity with 139 active chapters and 13 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania ...

fraternity. Hall was a member of the Reserve Officer Training Corps in college and after graduating he joined the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. He completed his initial training at

Lackland Air Force Base Lackland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located in Bexar County, Texas, United States. The base is under the jurisdiction of the 802d Mission Support Group, Air Education and Training Command (AETC) and an enclave of ...

in Texas, then was assigned as a flight navigation instructor at San Marcos Air Force Base in Texas. Hall served until 1954, when he transferred to the

Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...

, in which he served until 1956. He attended

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

for a year, then transferred to the

University of Tulsa College of Law The University of Tulsa College of Law is the law school of the private University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. For 2023, ''U.S. News & World Report'' ranked the University of Tulsa College of Law at No. 111 among all law schools in the United S ...

, from which he graduated in 1959. From 1959 to 1962, he served as assistant county attorney for

Tulsa County, Oklahoma Tulsa County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 669,279, making it the second-most populous county in the state, behind only Oklahoma County. Its county seat and largest city is Tulsa ...

, and as county attorney from February 10, 1962 to January 2, 1967. From 1968 to 1971, he served as a law professor at the

Governor of Oklahoma

In the 1966 election, Hall finished a close third place in the Democratic primary for governor. Four years later, he defeated incumbent Republican governor Dewey F. Bartlett in the closest gubernatorial election in state history, and took office only after a recount confirmed his victory. As governor, he championed education and transportation issues. His administration issued a landmark public policy analysis book of Oklahoma's education system entitled "Measuring up and Moving On." Hall and his appointees to the state highway commission and turnpike authority were committed to expanding the state's roads. During his term as governor, the state drastically expanded the vocational technical (later renamed career-tech) system of facilities offering low or no cost training certificates for residents. As governor, he signed into law the Oklahoma Income Tax Act, which enacted Oklahoma's income tax code. Hall's administration and policy initiatives were opposed and attacked on a regular basis by the state's largest newspaper, ''

The Daily Oklahoman ''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circul ...

'', and its powerful publisher E.K. Gaylord, who had supported Bartlett over Hall in the 1970 election.

Unsuccessful re-election bid

Hall was unsuccessful in his quest for re-election in the 1974 election. He obtained only 27 percent of the vote, a third-place finish in the Democratic primary. He trailed U.S. Congressman Clem McSpadden and state representative and

Oklahoma Baptist University Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU) is a private Baptist university in Shawnee, Oklahoma. It was established in 1910 under the original name of The Baptist University of Oklahoma. OBU is owned and was founded by the Baptist General Convention of ...

professor

David Boren David Lyle Boren (April 21, 1941 – February 20, 2025) was an American lawyer and politician from Oklahoma. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 21st governor of Oklahoma from 1975 to 1979 and thr ...

, who eventually won the nomination in a runoff and the general election over Republican

Jim Inhofe James Mountain Inhofe (; ; November 17, 1934 – July 9, 2024) was an American politician who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Oklahoma from 1994 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

Charges and retirement

Three days after leaving office in January 1975, Hall was indicted on federal

racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercion, coercive, fraud, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. ...

and

charges, in a conspiracy involving Hall and Oklahoma Secretary of State John Rogers willfully steering State of Oklahoma employee retiree funds to investment funds controlled by

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, businessman W. W. "Doc" Taylor. At Hall's trial, Rogers testified that he became an informant after Hall offered him a bribe. Hall was convicted of

and extortion, and became the first Oklahoma Governor to be convicted of criminal acts committed during his tenure. After exhausting all appeals, he served 19 months of a three-year sentence at the

in Safford, Arizona. (

John Ehrlichman John Daniel Ehrlichman (; March 20, 1925 – February 14, 1999) was an American political aide who served as White House Counsel and Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs under President Richard Nixon. Ehrlichman was an important infl ...

, of Watergate fame, was also housed at the same time at Safford.) Upon his release from prison in 1978, he was disbarred by the Oklahoma Bar Association, which effectively prevented him from practicing law in Oklahoma. Leaving the public spotlight, he moved to

La Jolla, California La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...

, where he worked in real estate and other ventures.

Return to Oklahoma

On February 13, 2007, Hall made his first appearance in the state of

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

since he left office over thirty years before. He appeared at the

Oklahoma History Center The Oklahoma History Center (OHC) is the history museum of the state of Oklahoma. Located on an plot across the street from the Governor's mansion at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive in Oklahoma City, the current museum opened in 2005 and is operated by ...

to help launch a new exhibit that features all of the Governors of the State of Oklahoma. Hall remarked that it was "like coming back to heaven." He authored a memoir, 2012's ''Twisted Justice: A Memoir of Conspiracies and Personal Politics'' which features his recollections of his time in office, and his reflections on his prison sentence and subsequent career.Chris Casteel, News OK
Former Oklahoma Gov. David Hall's Book Tells His Side of the Bribery Story
February 3, 2012

Death

Hall died at a

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

area hospital on May 6, 2016, at the age of 85. He had earlier been implanted with a pacemaker and had expected to be discharged from the hospital, but then developed a blood clot that ultimately went to his brain and caused a fatal

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

.Rick Green
"Former Oklahoma Gov. David Hall dies after stroke"
''

The Oklahoman ''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circul ...

'', May 6, 2016.

References

External links

Voices of Oklahoma interview with David Hall
- first-person interview conducted on February 13, 2012
Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Hall, David
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, David 1930 births 2016 deaths 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century Oklahoma politicians 20th-century Presbyterians American legal scholars Classen School of Advanced Studies alumni Democratic Party governors of Oklahoma Disbarred American lawyers District attorneys in Oklahoma Lawyers from Oklahoma City Lawyers from San Diego Military personnel from Oklahoma Military personnel from San Diego Oklahoma politicians convicted of bribery Politicians convicted of extortion under color of official right Politicians convicted under the Travel Act Politicians from Oklahoma City Politicians from San Diego Presbyterians from Oklahoma United States Air Force officers University of Oklahoma alumni University of Tulsa College of Law alumni University of Tulsa College of Law faculty Writers from Oklahoma City Writers from San Diego