James Louis Chapman (born March 8, 1945) is an American business and political leader. From 1985 to 1997, he served as Democratic Congressman representing the Texas's 1st congressional district in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

. His home town was Sulphur Springs.

Early life

Chapman was born in Washington, D.C. He attended public schools in Sulphur Springs; he received an undergraduate degree in business administration from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

(1968) and a J.D. degree from the

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

School of Law in

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 ...

(1970). After a stint in private practice, Chapman became the

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

for the Eighth Judicial District of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

from 1976 to 1985, during which he achieved a 99 percent conviction record and a national reputation as a tough, law and order prosecutor. Chapman served in leadership roles with the Texas District and County Attorneys Association and the National District Attorneys Association. Later, he set up his own practice and was senior partner of the law firm of Chapman, Price, Hughes & Bauer. He also became chairman of a local community bank.

Congressional career

Chapman was elected in 1985 as a Democrat in the 99th Congress during a highly visible

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of U.S. Representative

Sam B. Hall Samuel Blakeley Hall Jr. (January 11, 1924 – April 10, 1994) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas's 1st congressional district from 1976 to 1985 and a United Sta ...

. He defeated the Republican choice,

Edd Hargett Edward Eugene Hargett (born June 26, 1947) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies. He played in the NFL for the New Or ...

, a former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player, by just over 1,900 votes. However, he would never face another contest anywhere near that close, and was reelected to the five succeeding Congresses (August 3, 1985 – January 3, 1997). He was not a candidate for reelection to the One Hundred Fifth Congress in 1996, but was an unsuccessful candidate for nomination to the United States Senate in 1996. While in Congress, Chapman served four years on the Democratic

Steering and Policy Committee In the United States House of Representatives, the two major political parties maintain policy and steering committees. Their primary purpose is to assign fellow party members to other House committees, and they also advise party leaders on po ...

, which sets committee assignments and the legislative agenda for the caucus. He also served as chairman of the Texas Democratic congressional delegation and as a member of the Democratic Whip organization. Chapman served on the

House Appropriations Committee The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Co ...

, working on numerous projects including restoration and development of an Army Corps of Engineers-maintained East Texas lake called Cooper Lake, located between

Cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), an alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * "Cooper", a song by Roxette from ...

and Sulphur Springs. In honor of his work, Congress later enacted legislation formally renaming the lake as "

Jim Chapman Lake Jim Chapman Lake (also known as Cooper Lake) is a impoundment operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Army Corps of Engineers and is located east of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in the state of Texas. The reservoir was create ...

." Prior to his service on the Appropriations Committee, he served on the Public Works and Transportation Committee;

Small Business Committee The U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over the Small Business Administration and is also charged with researching and investigating all problems ...

; and the Science, Space and Technology Committee. Chapman gained notoriety during the

Clinton–Lewinsky scandal The Clinton–Lewinsky scandal was a sex scandal involving Bill Clinton, the president of the United States, and Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern. Their sexual relationship began in 1995—when Clinton was 49 years old and Lewinsky ...

when it was revealed in the

Starr Report The ''Starr Report'', officially the Referral from Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr in Conformity with the Requirement of Title 28, United States Code, Section 595(c), is a Federal government of the United States, United States federal gove ...

that

President Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the att ...

was receiving

fellatio Fellatio (also known as fellation, and in slang as blowjob, BJ, giving head, or sucking off) is an oral sex act consisting of the stimulation of a human penis, penis by using the mouth. Oral stimulation of the scrotum may also be termed ''fellat ...

from

Monica Lewinsky Monica Samille Lewinsky (born July 23, 1973) is an American activist. Lewinsky became internationally known in the late 1990s after U.S. President Bill Clinton admitted to having had an affair with her during her days as a White House intern ...

while on the phone with Chapman on November 15, 1995 between 9:25pm and 9:30pm.

References

External links

National District Attorneys Association
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Jim 1945 births Living people County district attorneys in Texas Texas lawyers Dedman School of Law alumni People from Sulphur Springs, Texas Politicians from Washington, D.C. Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas McCombs School of Business alumni Members of Congress who became lobbyists 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives