Harry Connick Sr.: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 01:52, 10 May 2009
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Harry Connick, Sr. Esq. | |
|---|---|
| District Attorney of Orleans Parish | |
| In office 1973–2003 | |
| Preceded by | Jim Garrison |
| Succeeded by | Eddie Jordan |
| Constituency | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1926 |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Spouse | Anita |
| Children | Harry, Jr., Suzanna |
| Alma mater | Loyola University New Orleans undergraduate, Tulane University law school |
Joseph Harry Fowler Connick, Sr. (born 1926) is a New Orleans attorney who is best known for serving as the district attorney of the Parish of Orleans, which contains the City of New Orleans, from 1973 to 2003. Connick is an Irish Catholic.
Connick's son, Harry Connick, Jr. is a successful singer, pianist, actor, and humanitarian. Like his famous son, the elder Connick is also a singer of some note, long performing a few nights a week at local clubs as a hobby.[citation needed]
In 2003, Connick was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield, Louisiana.[1]
Connick has been outspoken on the use of narcotics and pressed for drug testing of high-school students.[citation needed] Since September 2003, he has also served on the board of directors for Psychemedics Corporation, a firm producing drug tests that use hair samples, rather than urine.[citation needed]
Early life
After high school, Connick served in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific during World War II.[citation needed] After the war, he returned to New Orleans and graduated from Loyola University New Orleans with a degree in business administration.[citation needed]
He then joined the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a civilian employee where he met the woman who would become his wife, Anita Connick.[citation needed] Anita was an accomplished flute player who became one of the first female judges in the city of New Orleans and a Louisiana Supreme Court justice.[citation needed] When Harry and Anita Connick returned to New Orleans, they opened a record store.[citation needed] Ultimately they owned two stores while simultaneously pursuing law degrees, one working in the store while the other was at school.[citation needed] They also had a daughter, Suzanna, and a son, Harry, Jr.
Career
Connick served as an attorney for the New Orleans Legal Aid Bureau and as assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana.[citation needed] He was honored by the U.S. Attorney general for superior performance while an assistant U.S. attorney and by Louisiana State University for outstanding service in law enforcement training.[citation needed] He also served both as vice president and president of the Criminal Bar Association.[citation needed]
New Orleans District Attorney
As District Attorney, he was the defendant and petitioner in Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138 (1983),[2] a free speech case in public employment law.[citation needed] Employees' lawyers have decried the case because it limited the rights of public employees to discuss matters of public concern in the workplace and have vilified Connick for being the agent of the state who had allegedly violated the defendant Sheila Myers' constitutional right to freedom of speech under the First Amendment.[citation needed]
In 1987, Connick waged an unsuccessful challenge to incumbent William J. "Billy" Guste, Jr. for the position of Louisiana Attorney General. Attorney Manuel "Manny" Fernandez was eliminated from the competition in the jungle primary, and Connick and Guste advanced to the Louisiana general election. Guste prevailed over Connick, 516,658 (54 percent) to 440,984 (46 percent).[citation needed] Both are Democrats, but in Louisiana a general election can feature two members of the same party.[citation needed]
In 1989, Connick and actor Paul Burke were indicted on racketeering charges for aiding and abetting a gambling operation by returning gambling records to an arrested gambler.[3] He and Burke were acquitted of all charges after a seven-week trial.[citation needed]
In 1995, while District Attorney, Connick promised to the Assassination Records Review Board and at a public meeting in New Orleans that he would donate the Garrison investigative files which were still in his office.[citation needed] While the Review Board was allowed to inventory the records in Connick's office but not immediately take them, a New Orleans TV station sent the Review Board a box full of original witness transcripts from Garrison's grand jury case.[citation needed] According to the Review Board's final report,[4] Connick had instructed one of his investigators to destroy these documents after he took office. The investigator took them home instead and kept them until he found out about the Review Board.[citation needed] A battle ensued between Connick and the Review Board after Connick demanded that the papers were returned to him and threatening to withhold the investigation papers.[citation needed] After many subpoenas going both ways and with the help of the Justice Department the Review Board won and all the documents are now in the JFK Collection.[citation needed]