William Harold Cox


William Harold Cox was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.

Education and career

Born in Indianola, Mississippi, Cox received a Bachelor of Science degree from University of Mississippi in 1924. He received a Bachelor of Laws from University of Mississippi School of Law in 1924. He was in private practice of law in Jackson, Mississippi from 1924 to 1961.

Federal judicial service

Cox was nominated by President John F. Kennedy on June 20, 1961, to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, to a new seat created by 75 Stat. 80. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 27, 1961, and received his commission on June 30, 1961. He served as Chief Judge from 1962 to 1971. He assumed senior status on October 4, 1982. His service was terminated on February 25, 1988, due to his death in Jackson.

Notable cases

Cox was known as a segregationist and referred to blacks as "baboons" from the bench. When the United States Justice Department sued to block Mississippi's prosecution of John Hardy, a black resident who was beaten after he attempted to register to vote, Judge Cox denied the Department's motion for a temporary restraining order. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed Judge Cox's decision, and the Supreme Court denied review of the appellate decision.
Cox's most famous case was United States v. Price, the federal government's effort to prosecute suspected individuals involved in the murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner. Cox initially dismissed the indictments on all but two of those charged on the grounds that they were not government officials and therefore could not be charged with acting "under color of law." On appeal, Cox's action was reversed by the United States Supreme Court in 1966; Cox then presided over a trial that convicted some of those charged. He issued three to ten year sentences for the convictions of first- and second-degree murder. Cox said of his sentences, "They killed one nigger, one Jew, and a white man. I gave them all what I thought they deserved." Goodman and Schwerner were both Jewish.
Cox also ruled against the use of symbolic speech by high school students promoting civil rights in Blackwell v. Issaquena Board of Education.