Robert Paul Griffin (November 6, 1923 – April 16, 2015) was an American politician from the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. A member of the Republican Party, he served in both chambers of the

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as a member of 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 ...

from 1957 to 1966 and a member of the

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

from 1966 to 1979 and later served a Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court from 1987 to 1995. He co-sponsored the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, which regulates the internal affairs of labor unions. As a deputy minority leader in the Senate, he called on President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

, a fellow Republican, to resign during the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the Presidency of Richard Nixon, administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Resignation of Richard Nixon, Nix ...

Early life

Griffin was born in Detroit, Michigan, and attended public schools in Garden City and Dearborn. During the Second World War, he enlisted in the 71st Infantry Division in 1943 and spent fourteen months in Europe. After the war, he graduated from

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a Public university, public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1892 as a private normal school and became a state institution in 1895. CMU is one of the eigh ...

(known in former times as Central Michigan College) in

Mount Pleasant, Michigan Mount Pleasant is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is the county seat of Isabella County, which is part of Central Michigan. The population of Mount Pleasant was 21,688 as of the 2020 census. The city is surrounded by Union Char ...

in 1947. He received a

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 University of Michigan Law School and was admitted to the bar in 1950. He commenced the practice of law in

Traverse City, Michigan Traverse City ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, Michigan, Grand Traverse County, although it partly extends into Leelanau County, Michigan, Leelanau County. The city's population was 15, ...

Career

Griffin was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 9th congressional district in 1956, unseating incumbent Ruth Thompson in the Republican primary. Griffin served in the House during the 85th United States Congress as well as the four succeeding United States Congresses, a period spanning January 3, 1957, until May 10, 1966. After the revelations of the United States Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in Labor and Management, which investigated corruption and organized crime influence in labor unions, he and United States House of Representatives member Phillip M. Landrum from

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sponsored the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 also known as the Landrum-Griffin Act. He later supported

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

as the Republican Conference Chairman and later, the House Minority Leader. During his tenure in the House, Griffin voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1960 and 1964, as well as the

Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Twenty-fourth Amendment (Amendment XXIV) of the United States Constitution prohibits both US Congress, Congress and the US states, states from requiring the payment of a Poll taxes in the United States, poll tax or any other tax to vote in ...

and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, but did not vote on the

Civil Rights Act of 1957 The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was the first federal civil rights law passed by the United States Congress since the Civil Rights Act of 1875. The bill was passed by the 85th United States Congress and signed into law by President Dwight D. E ...

. He resigned May 10, 1966, to take a seat in the

. Following the death of United States Senate member Patrick V. McNamara,

governor of Michigan The governor of Michigan is the head of government of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the state's 49th governor. She was re-ele ...

George W. Romney appointed him to finish McNamara's term. In the 1966 election, he won election to a full term, defeating former Governor G. Mennen Williams by a 56% to 44% margin. He defeated Attorney General Frank J. Kelley in the 1972 election for a second term. In 1968, Griffin led a successful

filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent a decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking ...

against the nomination of Associate Justice Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Abe Fortas to be elevated to the position of Chief Justice, charging President (and former Senate Majority Leader)

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

with

cronyism Cronyism is a specific form of in-group favoritism, the spoils system practice of partiality in awarding jobs and other advantages to friends or trusted colleagues, especially in politics and between politicians and supportive organizations. ...

, noting the close relationship between the two. Fortas resigned his Associate Justice seat in May 1969 when it was discovered Fortas had been paid a $20,000 a year retainer by Louis Wolfson, a close friend and former client, since 1966. Griffin voted in favor of both the Civil Rights Act of 1968 and the confirmation of

Thurgood Marshall Thoroughgood "Thurgood" Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme C ...

to the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

. He became the Republican Whip in the Senate on September 24, 1969, and served until 1977. In 1974, he wrote to President Richard Nixon to inform him that if the White House did not release tapes that the

United States Senate Watergate Committee The Senate Watergate Committee, known officially as the Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, was a special committee established by the United States Senate, , in 1973, to investigate the Watergate scandal, with the power to inve ...

subpoenaed, the President would face impeachment and trial in the Senate. He also told the President that he considered the failure to comply with the subpoena as an impeachable offense. Up to that point, Griffin had been a supporter of the President. Griffin was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1978, narrowly defeated by former Detroit City Council president

Carl Levin Carl Milton Levin (June 28, 1934 – July 29, 2021) was an American attorney and politician who served as a List of United States senators from Michigan, United States senator from Michigan from 1979 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party (U ...

. He initially announced in April 1977 that he would not run for re-election in 1978, saying that he was tired and that Washington needed new blood. He went on to miss a third of the votes in 1977. He changed his mind later in the campaign and Levin used his own words and his attendance record against him during the campaign. Later, Griffin served as a justice of the

Michigan Supreme Court The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is Michigan's court of last resort and consists of seven justices. The Court is located in the Michigan Hall of Justice at 925 Ottawa Street in Lansing, the s ...

from 1987 to 1994. His son, Richard Allen Griffin, was a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals from 1989 to 2005, when he was appointed by President George W. Bush to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. During the elder Griffin's first Senate campaign in 1966, a suburban Detroit rock band, Doug Brown and the Omens, released a promotional flexi disc in support of Griffin's candidacy. The song, "Give Bob The Ball" (which extolled Griffin's "youth and experience") has been included on the

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

''Friday At The Hideout''.

Personal life and death

Griffin was a resident of

, in Northern Michigan. He married Marjorie Anderson of Ludington in 1947. Together, they had four children, including Richard Griffin. Griffin died on April 16, 2015, aged 91. He was interred at Linwood Cemetery near Traverse City's Long Lake.

Bibliography

* Griffin, Robert P. "The Landrum-Griffin Act: Twelve Years of Experience in Protecting Employee Rights." '' Georgia Law Review'' 5 (summer 1971): 622–42 * Griffin, Robert P. "Rules and Procedure of the Standing Committees." In ''We Propose: A Modern Congress'', edited by Mary McInnis, pp. 37–53. New York:

McGraw-Hill McGraw Hill is an American education science company that provides educational content, software, and services for students and educators across various levels—from K-12 to higher education and professional settings. They produce textbooks, ...

, 1966.

References

External links

Presentation of the Portrait of the Honorable Robert P. Griffin
* , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Robert P. 1923 births 2015 deaths 20th-century Michigan state court judges American Congregationalists Central Michigan University alumni Fordson High School alumni Justices of the Michigan Supreme Court People from Mount Pleasant, Michigan People from Traverse City, Michigan Politicians from Detroit Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan Republican Party United States senators from Michigan United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army soldiers University of Michigan Law School alumni 20th-century United States senators 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives