Camille Gravel

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Camille Francis Gravel, Jr. (August 10, 1915 -- December 23, 2005) was a giant in Louisiana and national Democratic politics for more than six decades, although he never held elective office. It is widely believed that Gravel (pronounced Grah-VEL), a native of Alexandria, would have been the attorney general in 1961 under President John F. Kennedy had Kennedy not selected his own brother, Robert F. Kennedy.

Gravel was the son of Camille Francis Gravel, Sr., and the former Aline Delvaille. He married the former Katherine David on November 26, 1939. She died in 1979, and the next year, he wed Evelyn Gianfala, who survived him. He was the father of eleven children.

Gravel was a dedicated Roman Catholic, who spent much time and money supporting the church. Pope Pius XII honored Gravel with the "Order of St. Gregory" for his outstanding service to the Catholic Church. It was often said that there was hardly a priest in Louisiana who did not consider Gravel his friend.

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[edit] Education

Gravel graduated from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana in 1935. At a time when a law degree was not required to become a lawyer, Gravel "read for the law" and passed the bar exam. He attended law school at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., from 1937-1939, but once explained that he just could not stick to the books. His lack of a law degree did not keep him from becoming a premier criminal defense lawyer. He was admitted to the bar in 1940.

Gravel introduced the late Louis Berry, a black lawyer, to the Alexandria Bar Association. The only way that a lawyer could practice before the courts was if he was formally presented before the bar. Berry said that no other white lawyer in Alexandria would introduce him; so he held a special affection for Gravel.

[edit] The 1948 Democratic Convention

Gravel was an early civil rights activist who was derided by Louisiana segregationist Democrats in the 1950s as an "integrationist." He attracted national attention when he led the loyal Louisiana Democratic delegation to the 1948 national convention in Philadelphia, when many other southern Democrats walked out in protest of a civil rights plank in the party platform supported by the party nominee Harry S. Truman.

Truman was placed on the Louisiana ballot as an independent that year by the Louisiana legislature, at the request of Governor Earl Kemp Long. Then Governor Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, later long-serving U.S. senator, was named the "Louisiana Democratic nominee" and carried Louisiana and three other Deep South states.

[edit] Advisor to three governors

A staunch Democrat, Gravel was a confidant and adviser to former Governors Earl Long, John McKeithen, and Edwin Washington Edwards. One may have assumed that Gravel would have favored his fellow Catholic and fellow liberal, then Mayor deLesseps Story Morrison, Sr., of New Orleans, for governor in the 1956 primary. Instead, Gravel worked hard to bring back Earl Long, and Long won the nomination in the first round of voting.

Earl Long had handpicked Gravel to run for attorney general in that same election, but the job paid little and Gravel, who was rearing a large family, turned down the chance. Long then turned to the garrulous Jack P.F. Gremillion as his attorney general choice, but in the campaign Long complained that Gremillion's repetitious speeches, which primarily highlighted Gremillion's World War II record, bored Long, who had avoided service in World War I. Eventually, Gravel's relationship with Long soured as well.

In Edwards' first two terms, 1972-1980, most of his proposed legislation was drafted by Gravel. Gravel returned as Edwards' counsel for his third term starting in 1984, but when Edwards was indicted for the first time on federal racketeering charges in 1985, Gravel left the governor's staff to work as his co-defense counsel. Edwards was acquitted.

Political writer John Hill noted that as a criminal defense attorney, Gravel "had such a statewide status that when anyone hired him, people knew the defendant was in real trouble." Gravel also served on Edwards' defense teams when he was convicted of racketeering in 2000. That conviction is still under appeal.

In 1979, Gravel scored a major victory when he succeeded in obtaining the acquittal of another high-profile defendant, former Congressman Otto E. Passman of Monroe. Passman was tried in Monroe for fraud, conspiracy, accepting an illegal gratuity, and tax evasion when the U.S. Justice Department obtained an indictment on the allegation that he had received $213,000 in illegal gifts from the South Korean lobbyist Tongsun Park in a scandal called "Koreagate."

Edwards once claimed that he and Gravel became political allies and friends because they were decades ahead of their time on the issue of civil rights.

By the late 1950s, when the state’s political war cry was segregation, Gravel was one of the prominent white political figures who did not join the mainstream.

"Purely as a moral proposition, I think segregation is wrong," he said in 1959.

Gravel was also influential in prison reform and, as a death penalty opponent, sometimes worked pro bono to defend death row inmates. Louisiana maintained its death penalty provision despite Gravel's contrary views.

[edit] Friendship with the Kennedys

Former Louisiana state senator, gubernatorial candidate, secretary of state, and insurance commissioner James H. "Jim" Brown (and father of NBC correspondent Campbell Brown) recalled a story as to how Gravel became friends with the Kennedys:

"There is a marvelous story as to how Camille’s relationship with Kennedy infuriated then Governor Earl Long. The governor led a delegation that included Camille to the 1956 Democratic Convention being held in Chicago. Kennedy was a candidate for vice president, since the position had been thrown open by presidential nominee Adlai Stevenson. Earl Long supported Senator Estes Kefauver from Tennessee. The governor decided to leave the convention early, and gave instructions to Camille [Gravel] and Judge Edmund Reggie of Crowley and a future father-in-law of Senator Edward M. Kennedy] to support Kefauver [who won the nomination for vice president].

"The Massachusetts delegation sat side-by-side with the Louisiana delegates, and Camille struck up a friendship with Kennedy. Despite Earl Long’s instructions, Camille supported Kennedy for vice president. Needless to say, the governor was infuriated. And so Camille damaged his relationship with the governor but made a lasting alliance with the man who would be president."

[edit] Louisiana Constitutional Convention, 1973

While others beat the drums for segregation during the 1950s and early 1960s, Gravel worked to elect as president the a man he had befriended at the 1956 Democratic Convention, John F. Kennedy. He failed, however, to win Louisiana for the 1964, 1968, and 1972 party nominees, Lyndon B. Johnson, Hubert H. Humphrey, and George McGovern.

Jim Brown noted the pivotal role that Gravel played in the Louisiana Constitutional Convention of 1973. The document was handily approved by voters in a special election in the spring of 1974. Brown, as a state senator, was also a delegate to the convention. Constitutional revision in Texas, being pushed at the same time, failed.

"Camille's effectiveness was never better put on display than during the effort to rewrite Louisiana 's obsolete constitution. Camille worked on every major section of the proposed document, perfecting the middle ground and working out compromises when delegates disagreed. I know of no greater influence on the basic law of our state than [that exercised by] Camille," said Brown.

In 1974, Gravel reminisced about the Kennedy victory on an election night when state voters approved the new state constitution that Gravel had helped to fashion.

"The Kennedy victory in Louisiana was my best moment in politics," Gravel said. "The victory tonight [for the new Constitution] is next best."

[edit] Death and funeral mass in Alexandria

Gravel died at the age of 90 in the Naomi Heights Nursing Home in Alexandria two days before Christmas 2005. He had been residing in the nursing home for several months, according to his son, Mark Gravel. He had undergone heart valve replacement surgery eleven months earlier in St. Frances Cabrini Hospital in Alexandria. He suffered a stroke in the surgery and did not regain consciousness. He underwent a second surgery three days later to remove a blood clot. He developed kidney problems. Mark Gravel noted that his father had been practicing law right up until the day before that he had the heart surgery.

Gravel's funeral mass was conducted on December 27, 2005, at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral in Alexandria, with the Rev. Ken Roy officiating. The bishop and nine other priests participated. Six federal judges were in attendance, as were members of Congress, numerous other judges and public officials, and hundreds whose lives he touched.

Democratic Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco described Gravel as a "towering figure in Louisiana's public life for more than 60 years. While distinguishing himself as one of our state's most prominent attorneys, Mr. Gravel always found time for public service, including a significant role in writing Louisiana's Constitution and his service to three governors."

[edit] Gravel's legacy

Jim Brown said that Gravel's influence on the legal profession and the political landscape of the state was "overwhelming. He has been, for many years, hands down one of the best criminal lawyers in the country.

"Many would be stunned at how full and complete a life he led. He has always been a lawyer’s lawyer, called on time and time again by attorneys throughout the country for his legal counsel and advice. Most of the Louisiana governors during the past 60 years have had him by their side. He served as executive counsel to both Governors John McKeithen and Edwin Edwards. . . . Numerous judges owe their positions on both the federal and state bench to the efforts and support they received from Camille Gravel.

"Camille had class. Real class. He had an aura of grace in his movement, never raised his voice, and was always a perfect gentleman. His sport coats were from Bullock and Jones in Miami. He was a dapper dresser that caused Earl Long to make fun of some of his outfits. Earl Long didn't know what class was.

"I never met anyone who prepaid at nice restaurants. Camille often didn't use credit cards. He just sent checks in advance to some of Louisiana 's better eating establishments, and kept credit on file. The restaurateurs loved him.

"Louisiana, over the last century, has certainly had its share of scandals, blemishes, and black eyes, but there is always that special cream that rises to the top. When historians review the exceptional figures during the 20th century in our state, Camille Gravel will be pointed to as one of the best.

"His was the life to emulate. He will be deeply missed by friends, family, and thousands of admirers from many walks of life, and from locations throughout the country .

"Strong. Brave. Unafraid of controversy. Unyielding in his convictions. Living every day of his life to the hilt. One of the largest figures of our time whose influence will be timeless."

Among his last political contributions, Gravel donated to Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, an unsuccessful candidate for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination who wound up as the party's vice-presidential choice, and to then U.S. Representative Chris John, an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate from Louisiana.

Gravel was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield in 1995.

[edit] References

William J. "Bill" Dodd, Peapatch Politics, Baton Rouge: Claitor's Publishing, 1991

http.www.lacdl.org/newletters/LACDLwinter2006.pdf Who's Who in America, 1975 edition

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