James Alexander Fowler (February 22, 1863 – November 18, 1955) was an American lawyer who served in various capacities as an

Assistant Attorney General Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) are headed by an assistant attorney general. The president of the United States appoints individuals to the position of assistant attorney general with the adv ...

and special assistant to the U.S. Attorney General from 1908 to 1914, and from 1921 to 1926. In this role, he either argued or prepared briefs for several notable

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

cases, and was active in the organization of the short-lived

Commerce Court Commerce Court is an office building complex on King and Bay Streets in the financial district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The four-building complex is a mix of Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, ar ...

. Fowler was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Tennessee in 1898 as well as for U.S. Senator in 1928. He served one term as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

, from 1927 to 1929.

Biography

Early life

Fowler was born at Bull Run Crossing in rural

Knox County, Tennessee Knox County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The population was 500,669 as of a 2023 estimate, making it the third-most populous county in Tennessee. Its county seat is Knoxville, which is the third-most populous city in Te ...

, the son of Joseph and Mary Conner Fowler. He attended the Holston Seminary in

New Market, Tennessee New Market is a town in Jefferson County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Morristown metropolitan area. The population was 1,334 at the 2010 census and 1,349 at the 2020 census. History On September 24, 1904, two passenger trains c ...

, and obtained his law degree from East Tennessee Wesleyan University (now Tennessee Wesleyan College) in 1884. He then moved to Clinton, Tennessee, and worked as principal of Clinton High School for about a year. He was admitted to the bar in 1886, and commenced the practice of law in Anderson County and surrounding counties. Fowler received the Republican Party nomination for governor in 1898. Democrats dominated most statewide elections during this period, and Fowler was easily defeated in the general election, managing to garner just 39.8% of the vote. In 1899, Fowler formed a law partnership, Lucky, Sanford and Fowler, with C.E. Lucky and future Supreme Court justice Edward Terry Sanford. He moved to Knoxville two years later. In 1907, Fowler served as a special prosecutor during the high-profile trial of James Fulton, an attorney accused of killing fellow attorney and

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

football standout, Sam Parker.

Justice Department

Fowler was appointed U.S.

by President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

in June 1908, and was reappointed by President

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...

the following year. In May 1911, he was appointed assistant to the attorney general (which marked a promotion) by Taft. While the Taft Administration came to an end in March 1913 after his defeat in the presidential election of the previous year, Fowler was retained as a special assistant by

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

's first attorney general, James C. McReynolds. Following McReynolds' nomination to the Supreme Court in August 1914, Fowler returned to private practice in Knoxville. As an assistant or special assistant to the attorney general, Fowler primarily handled the Justice Department's antitrust cases (which are now handled by the department's Antitrust Division). In this role, he argued several cases before the Supreme Court. In 1913, he prepared the brief and delivered the argument for '' United States v. Chandler-Dunbar Water Power Company'', a case involving water rights and compensation for property seized by the government. His brief in this case was referenced throughout the 1936 landmark case, '' Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority''. Fowler also argued several cases before the short-lived

, and later published a paper in the ''North American Review'' defending this court.James A. Fowler,
The Commerce Court
" ''The North American Review'', Vol. 197, No. 4 (April 1913), pp. 464-476. In 1921, Fowler was appointed special assistant to the attorney general by Attorney General Harry M. Daugherty. Daugherty initially tasked Fowler with handling the federal government's cases arising from New York's Lockwood investigations, which involved acts of extortion committed by the leaders of building materials unions. He later handled several Supreme Court cases, including ''Federal Trade Commission v. American Tobacco Co.'' (1924), '' United States v. Ninety-Five Barrels Alleged Apple Cider Vinegar'', and '' United States v. General Electric Co.'' (1926).

Later life

Fowler was elected to Knoxville's city council in 1927, and chosen as mayor by his fellow councilmen. He was reelected in 1929, but did not serve as mayor during his second term. Fowler received the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in 1928, but was defeated in the general election by Kenneth McKellar. After his second city council term ended in 1931, he returned to private practice. He died on November 18, 1955, and was interred in Knoxville's Greenwood Cemetery. Fowler was a member of the University of Tennessee board of trustees, and was president of the board of trustees for his ''alma mater'', Tennessee Wesleyan College. He was also active in numerous Methodist charities and organizations. His lawfirm, renamed Fowler and Fowler after his sons joined, continued operating in Knoxville under various partners for several years after his death, and his descendants continued practicing law in the Knoxville area into the 21st century.Sam F. Fowler Jr., Member of Fowler Law Family, Dies at 82
" Knoxville ''News Sentinel'', 6 May 2011. Retrieved: 6 October 2011.

References

External links