Howell Heflin

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Howell Thomas Heflin
United States Senator from Alabama
In office January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1997
Preceded by	John J. Sparkman
Succeeded by	Jeff Sessions
Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court
In office 1971 – 1977
Preceded by	Hon. J. Ed Livingston
Succeeded by	Hon. C. C. Torbert, Jr.
Born	June 19, 1921(1921-06-19) Poulan, Georgia
Died	March 29, 2005 (aged 83) Sheffield, Alabama
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	University of Alabama School of Law
Religion	Methodist

Memorial to Howell Heflin at the war memorial near the Colbert County Courthouse, Colbert County, Alabama

Historical marker on the Colbert County courthouse lawn in Tuscumbia, Alabama.

Howell Thomas Heflin (June 19, 1921 – March 29, 2005) was a United States Senator from Alabama, and a member of the Democratic Party.

Although born in Poulan, Georgia, Heflin was the nephew of prominent Alabama politician James Thomas Heflin and greatnephew of Alabama congressman Robert Stell Heflin. Following graduation from high school, Heflin attended Birmingham-Southern College (graduated 1942) and the University of Alabama Law School (graduated 1948). During this time he also served as a U.S. Marine officer in World War II and was awarded the Silver Star for combat, seeing action on Bougainville and Guam.

He became a law professor, and then became the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court from 1971 to 1977.

In 1978, Heflin was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate to succeed John Sparkman. He remained in the Senate, where he rose to become Chairman of the Select Committee on Ethics, until January 3, 1997. While on the Ethics Committee, he led the prosecution against fellow Senator Howard Cannon (D-NV) for violations of Senate rules.

His stances on cultural issues most often reflected the region he was from. He strongly opposed legal abortion and all gun control laws. Heflin supported prayer in public schools and opposed extending federal laws against discrimination to lesbians and gays. He voted in favor of the Gulf War and against limiting spending on defense. With Fritz Hollings from South Carolina, he was one of only two Democrats in the Senate to vote against the Family and Medical Leave Act. He occasionally voted with Republicans on taxes. On other economic issues he was more in sync with the populist wing of his party. He voted against the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and attempts to weaken enforcement of consumer protection measures. He strongly supported affirmative action laws. He memorably voted against the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, complaining of his lack of experience and interest.

During his tenure, Heflin was considered to have bipartisan support if he were nominated for a vacancy on the United States Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan. Nevertheless, Heflin did not wish to serve on the highest court in the United States.

The University of Alabama School of Law has honored Heflin with the "Howell Heflin Conference Room" in the Bounds Law Library. There is also a street named "Howell Heflin Lane" in Tuscumbia, Alabama.

[edit] External links

• Howell Heflin profile, NNDB
• Maj Fred H. Allison, USMC. Interview With a Senator and a Marine. Marines and Corpsmen who served with the 1st Battalion 9th Marines. Retrieved on 2007-04-22.
• Heflin, Howell Thomas (1921–2005). Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2007-04-22.
• Oral history interview by Jack Bass and Walter DeVries, July 1974 (Southern Oral History Program, UNC-Chapel Hill)

v • d • e United States Senators from Alabama Class 2: King • Lewis • Fitzpatrick • Clemens • C. Claiborne Clay • Warner • Goldthwaite • Morgan • Bankhead, Sr. • Comer • J. Heflin • Bankhead, Jr. • Swift • Sparkman • H. Heflin • Sessions Class 3: Walker • Kelly • Chambers • Pickens • McKinley • Moore • McKinley • C. Comer Clay • Bagby • King • Fitzpatrick • Spencer • Houston • Pryor • Pugh • Pettus • Johnston • White • Underwood • Black • Graves • Hill • J. Allen • M. Allen • Stewart • Denton • Shelby

v • d • e Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Alabama Clay • Lipscomb • Saffold • Hitchcock • Hopkins • Collier • Dargan • Chilton • Goldthwaite • Rice • Walker • Peck • Peters • Brickell • Stone • McClellan • Weakley • Tyson • Dowdell • Anderson • Gardner • Livingston • Heflin • Torbert • Hornsby • Hooper • Moore • Nabers • Cobb