Richard Harding Poff
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Richard Harding "Dick" Poff (October 19, 1923 – June 27, 2011) was an American politician and judge. He was first elected to 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 ...
in 1952 from Virginia's 6th congressional district. An attorney and a Republican, he was given strong consideration for the
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by President Richard M. Nixon and was later appointed as a justice (later senior justice) of the Virginia Supreme Court.


Early life and education

Born in Radford, Montgomery County, Virginia, Poff attended the local public schools and graduated from Christiansburg High School. He then traveled to Salem, Virginia for studies at
Roanoke College Roanoke College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Salem, Virginia. It has approximately 2,000 students who represent approximately 40 states and 30 countries. The college offers ...
. After his military service below, Poff used his GI bill benefits, he earned a law degree (LL.B.) in 1948 from the University of Virginia School of Law at Charlottesville.


Military service

During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Poff served as a bomber pilot with the Eighth Air Force in
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; flew thirty-five successful missions over
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; awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross; was inactivated from the service as a first lieutenant serving from February 1943 to August 1945.


Legislative career

Poff was first elected to Congress in 1952, defeating incumbent Democrat Clarence G. Burton. He was the first Republican to represent this part of Virginia since Reconstruction, and likely owed his victory to Dwight Eisenhower carrying the state in that year's presidential election. However, the 6th district had been shifting away from its Democratic roots for some time. The Byrd Democrats in western Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley had begun splitting their tickets as early as the 1930s. He would never face another contest nearly as close as his first one, and was reelected nine times. Poff had his share of controversy during his decades in the House of Representatives. He and Joel Broyhill of Virginia were the only two Republicans, along with the rest of Virginia's entire Congressional delegation, and nearly all members from Southern states, to sign the Southern Manifesto protesting the Supreme Court's mandate in '' Brown v. Board of Education'' to desegregate public schools. Linwood Holton, former
Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. The Governor (United States), governor is head of the Government_of_Virginia#Executive_branch, executive branch ...
(1970–1974), and the Commonwealth's first
post-Reconstruction The nadir of American race relations was the period in African-American history and the history of the United States from the end of Reconstruction era, Reconstruction in 1877 through the early 20th century, when racism in the United States, r ...
Republican Governor, suggests that Poff likely could not have been reelected unless he had signed the manifesto. Despite that controversial decision, he was well liked by most of his constituents, most of whom had never been represented by a Republican before. This included many
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
s, who in an
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report on his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court described him as having a great interest in individuals; only one person in that report described him as a
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despite having signed the Southern Manifesto. Consistent with his signing of the Manifesto, Poff voted against the Civil Rights Acts of 1957, 1960, 1964, and 1968, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, but voted in favor of the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In 1971, he voted for the Equal Employment Opportunity Act and supported federal aid to accelerate the desegregation process. He was the only member of the House Republican leadership who did not support President Eisenhower's proposal to increase the
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and widen its coverage. According to John Dean, he was also the author of most of the
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while serving on the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives.


Electoral history

*1952; Poff was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives with 51.55% of the vote, defeating Democrat Clarence Godber Burton. *1954; Poff was re-elected with 62.31% of the vote, defeating Democrat Ernest Robertson and Social Democrat J.B. Brayman. *1956; Poff was re-elected with 62.09% of the vote, defeating Democrat John L. Whitehead and Social Democrat Brayman. *1958; Poff was re-elected with 56.74% of the vote, defeating Democrat Richard F. Pence and Social Democrat Brayman. *1960; Poff was re-elected with 82.62% of the vote, defeating Social Democrat Brayman. *1962; Poff was re-elected with 65.22% of the vote, defeating Democrat John P. Wheeler and now-Independent Brayman. *1964; Poff was re-elected with 56.24% of the vote, defeating Democrat William B. Hopkins. *1966; Poff was re-elected with 80.84% of the vote, defeating Democrat Murray A. Stoller. *1968; Poff was re-elected with 92.16% of the vote, defeating Democrat Tom Hufford. *1970; Poff was re-elected with 74.58% of the vote, defeating Democrat Roy R. White.


Nomination to Supreme Court of the United States

Before President Richard Nixon could formally nominate him for the U.S. Supreme Court, Poff withdrew (before nomination reached the Senate). John Dean wrote that Poff actually made that decision based on concerns that he would thus be forced to reveal to his then-12-year-old son that he had been adopted. Poff's concern was that the child would be negatively affected by that kind of information if revealed before he was old enough to understand. Nevertheless, according to ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', within weeks after he withdrew from consideration that sensitive personal information was revealed in Jack Anderson's column, and he was forced to inform the child of his adoption anyway. By then, it was too late for reconsideration, and eventually Lewis Powell, another Virginian, was confirmed to the Supreme Court in Poff's place. In 1971, when under consideration for the Supreme Court, Poff said in a newspaper interview that he had supported the ''Southern Manifesto'' and opposed desegregation because he believed he would have otherwise been defeated for reelection to the U.S. House. He voiced regret over his opposition to past civil rights measures. Within a year of those comments, he resigned from the House to join the Virginia Supreme Court.


Legislation

Poff is also well known as one of the men who, as a member of the House Judiciary Committee, sponsored the
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was e ...
, better known as RICO. Poff had an interesting take on RICO, which has since been ignored by the Supreme Court. Poff stated in the Congressional Record that the Act should be used only against organizations, and not individuals.


Supreme Court of Virginia

Richard H. Poff went on to become Justice and then a Senior Justice of the Virginia Supreme Court, where he served until his retirement. He died on June 27, 2011, in a life care center in Tullahoma,
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.


Personal life

Poff married his first wife, Jo Ann Topper, in 1948. She died in 1978. They had three children. In 1980, he married his second wife, Jean Murphy, who died in 2007.


Legacy

The Richard H. Poff Federal Building in Roanoke, Virginia is named for Poff. It houses many of the primary federal offices in southwest Virginia, including the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Roanoke Public Library maintains a collection of newsletters Congressman Poff sent to his constituents (1954-1971).


References


External sources

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Poff, Richard Harding 1923 births 2011 deaths 20th-century Virginia state court judges 20th-century American lawyers People from Radford, Virginia Politicians from Roanoke, Virginia Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia Roanoke College alumni United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II United States Army officers University of Virginia School of Law alumni Virginia lawyers Justices of the Supreme Court of Virginia Signatories of the Southern Manifesto 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives