James Albon Mattox (August 29, 1943 – November 20, 2008) was an American
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters.
The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...
and
politician
A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
from Texas who served three terms 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 ...
and two four-year terms as
Texas Attorney General, but lost high-profile races for
governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
in
1990
Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
, the
U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
in
1994
The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations.
In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
, and again as attorney general in 1998. He was a member of the
Democratic Party.
[April Castro, "Mattox, a tough foe, dies at 65", '']Laredo Morning Times
The ''Laredo Morning Times'' is a daily newspaper publication based in Laredo, Texas, Laredo, Texas, USA. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation.
References
*Odie Arambula, ''Laredo Morning Times'', June 14, 2006.
External links
''Laredo Mornin ...
'', November 21, 2008, p. 1
Congressional service, 1977–1983
In 1961, Mattox graduated in Dallas from
Woodrow Wilson High School. He received his
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
in 1965 from
Baylor University
Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...
in
Waco and his
juris doctor
A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
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, ...
Dedman School of Law
SMU Dedman School of Law, commonly referred to as SMU Law School or Dedman School of Law, is a law school located in Dallas, Texas. Jason P. Nance serves as its current dean.
Founded in February 1925, the school located is on the Southern Meth ...
.
Considered a political
liberal Mattox was elected to Congress from the
Fifth Congressional District in 1976, 1978, and 1980. In his first election, running on the
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
-
Walter F. Mondale ticket, he defeated former
Dallas Mayor Wes Wise, 60.9 to 33.9%.
Attorney General 1983–1991
In 1983, Mattox was indicted for
commercial bribery and prosecuted by
Travis County 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 ...
Ronnie Earle, a Democrat close to the late Governor
Ann Richards
Dorothy Ann Richards (née Willis; September 1, 1933 – September 13, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 45th governor of Texas from 1991 to 1995. A Democrat, she first came to national attention as the Texas State Treasurer, ...
. Earle later prosecuted the Republican congressional leader
Tom DeLay
Thomas Dale DeLay (; born April 8, 1947) is an American author and retired politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, DeLay represented Texas's 22nd congress ...
. Like the DeLay prosecution, the political background of the Mattox prosecution related to an attempt to conceal the delivery of corporate funds to an election campaign. Mattox had received a campaign contribution of $125,000 from his sister Janice, a Dallas lawyer. Janice Mattox, in turn, had obtained a similar amount from Seafirst Bank in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
, which had close ties to Mattox supporter
Clinton Manges, a controversial
South Texas rancher-oilman who was the successor to
George Parr, the corrupt "Duke of
Duval". Manges was co-
plaintiff
A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the ...
with the state (represented by Mattox) in major litigation against
Mobil Oil
Mobil Oil Corporation, now known as just Mobil, is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil, formerly known as Exxon, which took its current name after it and Mobil merged in 1999.
A direct descenda ...
Company. Mobil had attempted to depose Janice Mattox concerning the Seafirst transaction, which led Mattox to threaten Mobil's law firm,
Fulbright & Jaworski, with loss of its tax-exempt bond practice, a power held by the attorney general in Texas. Secretly recorded by the recipient of the threats, Mattox did not deny threatening the law firm, nor did he deny the Seafirst transactions, his defense being based on the legal definition of the crime of "commercial bribery". After a long trial, Mattox was acquitted.
His aggressive attacks on alleged wrongdoing by corporations gained him considerable popular support.
In 1989, Mattox was inducted into the Woodrow Wilson High School Hall of Fame.
Challenging Ann Richards, 1990
Failed comeback attempts, 1994 and 1998
Advocate for Ending the Texas Two-Step
Five days before his death, Jim Mattox testified to a Texas Democratic Party Committee on the Party's method of awarding presidential delegates based on a primary vote plus evening caucuses. Mattox said the system, known as the
Texas Two-Step, was an embarrassment to the party. "Now let me tell you, folks," Mattox said. "This system we've got is an expensive system. It's an unintelligible system. It is an acrimonious system across the board. It is subject to misconduct, it is subject to fraud, it is subject to manipulation. It's unfair, it's uncertain, it's inaccurate, and it's an embarrassment to our party."
Death
In 2008, Mattox worked in
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
's unsuccessful bid for the Democratic
presidential nomination
Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to a public office, or the bestowing of an honor or award. A collection of nominees narrowed from the full list of candidates is a short list.
Political office
In ...
. He died eight months thereafter at the age of 65 of a heart attack in his sleep at his home in
Dripping Springs in
Hays County west of Austin.
Mattox's body lay in repose at the Texas House of Representatives chamber inside the
Texas Capitol rotunda on Monday, November 24, 2008. Services were held on Tuesday, November 25, 2008 at the First Baptist Church, 901 Trinity Street in Austin. He is interred at the
Texas State Cemetery
The Texas State Cemetery (TSC) is a cemetery located on about just east of downtown Austin, downtown Austin, Texas, Austin, the Capital (political), capital of the U.S. state of Texas. Originally the burial place of Edward Burleson, Texas Revo ...
, 909 Navasota Street in Austin.
References
External links
* http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/vol17/issue26/pols.AGrace.html
* https://web.archive.org/web/20061108172637/http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe
* http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/vol18/issue09/pols.attgeneral.html
* http://www.sanderhicks.com/reagan.html
* http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/f/finances/index.html?query=MATTOX,%20JAMES&field=per&match=exact
* http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2519/is_n6_v15?pnum=9&opg=15543265
* http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcd11
* https://web.archive.org/web/20081201094733/http://changethecaucus.org/?p=172 Video of Jim Mattox Testifying Against the Texas Two-Step at Austin Hearing on November 14
* http://www.cemetery.state.tx.us/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mattox, Jim
1943 births
2008 deaths
Baptists from Texas
Burials at Texas State Cemetery
Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives
Politicians from Austin, Texas
Politicians from Dallas
People from Dripping Springs, Texas
Texas attorneys general
Texas lawyers
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas
Dedman School of Law alumni
20th-century American lawyers
20th-century Baptists
Woodrow Wilson High School (Dallas) alumni
20th-century members of the Texas Legislature
20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives