From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Sam Garrison
Sam Garrison
Samuel Alexander "Sam" Garrison III (February 21, 1942 whether the public interest would better be served
- May 27, 2007) was a lawyer, probably best known for or not served by the removal of the president."[2]
his role as minority counsel for the House Judiciary Com-
mittee, defending President Richard Nixon in the 1974
impeachment hearings, and for his subsequent gay ac-
Back to Roanoke
tivism. Garrison later moved back to Roanoke, and later ran into
financial and legal problems. The Washington Post noted:
"He was a partner in a failed Roanoke restaurant and dis-
Early years co. The business had $1 million in debts when it closed,
Garrison graduated as valedictorian of the 1959 class of and Mr. Garrison declared bankruptcy. His partner, left
Roanoke Catholic High School, aged 17. He was president with the debt, conspired to kill him to recover $300,000
of his fraternity at the University of Virginia[1], where he in insurance, a court later found.
received an undergraduate degree in 1963, and then a law In 1980, as a court-appointed attorney representing a
degree in 1966. From there he became an assistant com- bankrupt mobile home firm in Georgia, Garrison was in-
monwealth’s attorney in his home town of Roanoke, and dicted in a $46,000 theft from its trust. He was convicted
by 1969, at age 27, became the youngest person elected as and disbarred and served four months of a one-year sen-
the Commonwealth’s Attorney.[1] tence. (In 1993, the Virginia Supreme Court restored Gar-
rison’s law license).
National politics, and Water- In 1982 he publicly revealed that he was gay. Subse-
quently, he joined the Democratic Party and became ac-
gate tive in party politics and in the gay rights movement,
among other things, unsuccessfully campaigning for Vir-
Main article: Watergate scandal
ginia to repeal its anti-sodomy laws.
In 1971, he moved to Washington to be staff counsel to
He was appointed in 2003 to the Virginia Council on
the House Judiciary Committee, and just 16 months later,
Human Rights by Governor Mark R. Warner.
he joined the staff of newly elected Vice President Spiro
Agnew as legislative liaison. After Agnew resigned in
1973, Garrison began working on the House Judiciary References
Committee’s impeachment staff, and eventually replaced [1] ^ Mike Allen; Amanda Codispoti (May 31, 2007).
the committee’s chief minority counsel, Albert E. Jenner "Lawyer relished role as activist: Gay rights topped
Jr., who called the impeachment case against Nixon per- the list of Sam Garrison’s causes during a career
suasive. with its share of ups and downs". Roanoke Times.
In an obituary the The Washington Post wrote: http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/
118890.
Garrison, then 32, was the last-minute replacement
[2] Patricia Sullivan (May 31, 2007). "Watergate GOP
chosen by the committee’s 17 Republicans to pre-
Counsel, Gay Activist Sam Garrison". Washington
sent the minority view of the case against Nixon.
Post. p. B06. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
With just days to prepare, he submitted a 41-page
dyn/content/article/2007/05/30/
argument against impeachment.
AR2007053002402.html.
"By all accounts, Sam Garrison did not exactly hit Persondata
a home run", reporter William Greider wrote in The Name Garrison, Sam
Washington Post on July 23, 1974. "But his perfor- Alternative names
mance satisfied the senior Republicans who wanted
Short description
someone, for appearance’s sake if nothing else, to
argue the soft spots in the Judiciary Committee’s Date of birth February 21, 1942
evidence." Place of birth
Date of death May 27, 2007
"The question," Mr. Garrison said at the time, "is
Place of death
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Sam Garrison
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sam_Garrison&oldid=452423506"
Categories:
• LGBT people from the United States
• Deaths from leukemia
• People from Roanoke, Virginia
• Virginia lawyers
• Watergate figures
• 1942 births
• 2007 deaths
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