Mike Bowers

Last updated
Mike Bowers
Mike Bowers.jpg
Attorney General of Georgia
In office
1981–1997
OccupationLawyer

Michael Joseph Bowers (born October 7, 1941) [1] was the Attorney General of Georgia from 1981 to 1997 [2] before mounting an unsuccessful campaign for Georgia Governor. Bowers was a Democrat through 1994, at which time he joined the Republican Party. Bowers has practiced law with Balch & Bingham in Atlanta. He now practices law at Johnson Marlowe LLP in Athens, Georgia.

Contents

Early life

Bowers was born in Commerce, Georgia. [3] He graduated from the United States Military Academy with a B.S. degree in 1963 and served in the United States Air Force from 1963 to 1970. Bowers received an M.S. degree in industrial engineering from Stanford University in 1965 and an M.B.A. from the University of Utah in 1970. [1] [4] He joined the Georgia Air National Guard on September 19, 1970 and earned his J.D. degree from the University of Georgia in 1974, [4] and then worked as an assistant state attorney general until his appointment as attorney general in 1981. Running as the incumbent attorney general on the Democratic ticket, he was elected in his own right in 1982. He was re-elected in 1986 and 1990. In early 1994, he quit the Democratic Party to become a Republican, and won re-election again later that year. Bowers resigned as attorney general in June 1997 to run for the Republican nomination for governor in 1998. He also retired from military service on August 31, 1997 with the rank of major general. [4]

Attorney General

Bowers was known as a very active attorney general. He did not come from a privileged background and his public service exhibited a populist flair. [5] He vigorously opposed conflicts of interest by public officials and contractors that might undermine loyalty to the citizenry and the public's confidence in state government. For instance, despite fierce opposition from entrenched interests, Bowers was successful in convincing the courts that, due to an inherent conflict of interest, state legislators who were lawyers could not sue the state. [6]

Corruption fighter

Bowers vigorously opposed public corruption. His targets included long-serving Georgia Labor Commissioner Sam Caldwell, whom he prosecuted for fraud. [7] Bowers also prosecuted powerful highway construction companies for bid-rigging practices that were anti-competitive. [8]

At the end of his tenure, one newspaper described Bowers's service as follows: "Unquestioned integrity and dedication to principles have been hallmarks of his administration, even though his unwillingness to compromise has angered politicians and constituents." [9] Another well-known Georgia political commentator stated that in Bowers "we have come to expect an unconstrained, outspoken and active attorney general." [10]

Affair

Bowers's political ambitions were derailed when, during his campaign for the 1998 Republican gubernatorial nomination, he admitted to a decade-long extramarital affair with his employee and secretary, a former Playboy Club waitress. The woman, Anne Davis, stated that the romance had been active as recently as six weeks prior to Bowers's June 5, 1997, announcement. [11] Bowers went on to lose the 1998 Republican primary to Guy Millner, finishing with 39.92 percent of the vote compared with Millner's 50.38 percent. [12]

Bowers v. Hardwick

Bowers controversially performed the duties of his office by defending the constitutionality of a Georgia criminal sodomy statute in a test case brought by the ACLU. The plaintiff was Michael Hardwick, a man who had been arrested by the Atlanta Police Department on charges including violation of the state sodomy statute. (Hardwick had engaged in consensual sex in the privacy of his own home.) The relevant county district attorney refused to prosecute the case, but the courts ruled that Hardwick nevertheless had standing to challenge the constitutionality of the statute. The United States Supreme Court upheld the statute in Bowers v. Hardwick (1986). [13] The Georgia statute that Michael Hardwick had challenged was overturned by the Georgia Supreme Court in a subsequent case in 1998. [14] The U.S. Supreme Court later overturned its Bowers ruling in a 2003 decision, Lawrence v. Texas , [15] in which it stated that "Bowers was not correct when it was decided, and it is not correct today." Bowers has declined further comment on the case, saying "I did my job as best I knew how, and reasonable people can disagree about it, but that's all I want to say about it now." [16]

Shahar v. Bowers

Bowers faced controversy again in 1991 when he rescinded a hiring offer to a lesbian, Robin Shahar, for an assistant attorney general position because she had stated that she planned to participate in a religious ceremony of which Bowers did not approve. (Shahar planned a same-sex marriage ceremony with the blessing of her Jewish faith. [17] ) Bowers claimed that Shahar's sexual orientation would prevent her from enforcing the state's sodomy law. Shahar sued Bowers, but the courts ruled that Bowers had not violated her constitutional rights in rescinding the job offer. [18]

Private practice

Since leaving public office, Bowers has entered private practice. In one notable case, he successfully sued Fulton County, Georgia for "reverse" discrimination against several white library employees who were given job reassignments because of their race. [19] (Fulton County eventually settled for $18 million. [20] )

Bowers successfully led the merger of his Atlanta-based firm into the larger Alabama-based firm of Balch & Bingham [21] in June, 2003.

In 2003, Bowers started a government relations and lobbying firm with his son Bruce Bowers and John Watson, the political consultant for Georgia's then-governor, Sonny Perdue. Bowers said they had a simple objective: "to make money." [22]

In 2015, Bowers stated that his views on gay rights had "changed," and he lobbied the Georgia legislature in opposition to legislation that would allow discrimination against LGBT people on the basis of personal religious views. [23]

In September, 2020 Bowers joined the Athens law firm Johnson Marlowe LLP as counsel. [24]

Awards

His military awards include the Legion of Merit and the Meritorious Service Medal. [4] He received an honorary degree in Doctor of Laws in 1988 from Oglethorpe University. [25]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commerce, Georgia</span> City in Georgia, United States

Commerce is a city in Jackson County and Banks County, Georgia, 70 miles (110 km) northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 7,387.

Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003), is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that sanctions including any form of criminal punishment to all forms of private, consensual non-procreative adult sexual activities between two individuals are unconstitutional. The Court reaffirmed the concept of a "right to privacy" that earlier cases had found the U.S. Constitution provides, even though it is not explicitly enumerated. It based its ruling on the notions of personal autonomy to define one's own relationships and of American traditions of non-interference with any or all forms of private sexual activities between consenting adults.

Bowers v. Hardwick, 478 U.S. 186 (1986), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court that upheld, in a 5–4 ruling, the constitutionality of a Georgia sodomy law criminalizing oral and anal sex in private between consenting adults, in this case with respect to homosexual sodomy, though the law did not differentiate between homosexual and heterosexual sodomy. It was overturned in Lawrence v. Texas (2003), though the statute had already been struck down by the Georgia Supreme Court in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Blackmun</span> US Supreme Court justice from 1970 to 1994

Harry Andrew Blackmun was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1970 to 1994. Appointed by President Richard Nixon, Blackmun ultimately became one of the most liberal justices on the Court. He is best known as the author of the Court's opinion in Roe v. Wade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Isakson</span> American politician (1944–2021)

John Hardy Isakson was an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator from Georgia from 2005 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Georgia legislature and the United States House of Representatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Barnes</span> Governor of Georgia from 1999 to 2003

Roy Eugene Barnes is an American attorney and politician who served as the 80th governor of Georgia from 1999 to 2003. As of 2023, he is the most recent Democrat to serve as governor of Georgia.

<i>Powell v. State</i>

Powell v. State of Georgia, S98A0755, 270 Ga. 327, 510 S.E. 2d 18 (1998), was a decision of the Supreme Court of Georgia in the U.S. state of Georgia that overturned its law against sodomy within the state. The Court ruled that the Georgia Constitution granted a right to privacy, and that outlawing oral or anal sex between consenting adults was a violation of the state constitution, thus deeming it "unconstitutional".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leah Ward Sears</span> American judge

Leah Ward Sears is an American jurist and former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia. Sears was the first African-American female chief justice of a state supreme court in the United States. When she was first appointed as justice in 1992 by Governor Zell Miller, she became the first woman and youngest person to sit on Georgia's Supreme Court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard F. Lyon (judge)</span> American judge

Richard Francis Lyon (1819–1893) was a Georgia attorney and jurist before and during the Confederacy. He was the mayor of Albany, Georgia, from 1858 to 1859 and an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia from 1859 to 1865.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randy Evans</span> American lawyer & diplomat (born 1958)

James Randolph Evans is an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Luxembourg from 2018 to 2021. He presented his credentials on June 19, 2018, to the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. A member of the Republican Party from Georgia, he specializes in litigation, as well as professional, legal and government ethics. Evans is a partner at the global law firm Squire Patton Boggs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1998 Georgia gubernatorial election</span>

The 1998 Georgia gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1998. Incumbent Democratic Governor Zell Miller was unable to seek re-election due to term limits, therefore creating an open seat. To replace him, State Representative Roy Barnes won the Democratic Party's nomination after a close and highly contested primary election, while businessman Guy Millner, who had run for Governor and the United States Senate in the previous four years, won the nomination of the Republican Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1994 Georgia gubernatorial election</span>

The 1994 Georgia gubernatorial election occurred on November 8, 1994, to elect the next governor of Georgia from 1995 to 1999. Incumbent Democratic Governor Zell Miller, first elected in 1990, ran for a second term. In his party's primary, Miller received three challengers, but easily prevailed with just over 70% of the vote. The contest for the Republican nomination, however, was a competitive race. As no candidate received a majority of the vote, John Knox and Guy Millner advanced to a run-off election. Millner was victorious and received the Republican nomination after garnering 59.41% of the vote.

<i>Baker v. Wade</i> U.S. court case on sodomy

Baker v. Wade 563 F.Supp 1121, rev'd 769 F.2nd 289 cert denied 478 US 1022 (1986) is a federal lawsuit challenging the legality of the sodomy law of the state of Texas. Plaintiff Donald Baker contended that the law violated his rights to privacy and equal protection. After a victory at trial, an appellate court reversed the lower court's decision and in the wake of its decision in Bowers v. Hardwick the Supreme Court of the United States refused to review it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Olens</span> Former Georgia Attorney General and University President

Samuel Scott Olens is an American lawyer and politician who served as Attorney General of Georgia. Olens was elected Georgia AG in 2010, resigning on November 1, 2016, following his appointment as President of Kennesaw State University. He subsequently resigned as KSU's president on February 15, 2018 and then served as counsel for Dentons global law firm. He was named partner Dentons' Public Policy practice in 2021.

The state of Georgia mostly improved in its treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents in the years after 1970, when LGBT residents began to openly establish events, organizations and outlets for fellow LGBT residents and increase in political empowerment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Three governors controversy</span> Political crisis in the U.S. state of Georgia in 1946-47

The three governors controversy was a political crisis in the U.S. state of Georgia from 1946 to 1947. On December 21, 1946, Eugene Talmadge, the governor-elect of Georgia, died before taking office. The state constitution did not specify who would assume the governorship in such a situation, so three men made claims to the governorship: Ellis Arnall, the outgoing governor; Melvin E. Thompson, the lieutenant governor-elect; and Herman Talmadge, Eugene Talmadge's son. Eventually a ruling by the Supreme Court of Georgia settled the matter in favor of Thompson. Georgia's Secretary of State Ben Fortson hid the state seal in his wheelchair so no official business could be conducted until the controversy was settled.

Doe v. Commonwealth's Attorney of Richmond, 425 U.S. 901 (1976), is a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States which gave summary affirmation of a lower court ruling which upheld the U.S. state of Virginia's ban on homosexual sodomy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1946 Georgia gubernatorial election</span>

The 1946 Georgia gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1946, in order to elect the Governor of Georgia.

Balch & Bingham LLP is a United States law firm based in Birmingham, Alabama.

References

  1. 1 2 "Class of 1963—Register of Graduates". Register of Graduates and Former Cadets 1802–1971 of the United States Military Academy. The West Point Alumni Foundation Inc. 1971. p. 734. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
  2. ↑ "RBRL/220/ROGP.027". russelldoc.galib.uga.edu. Retrieved 2015-12-21.
  3. ↑ Kathey Alexander & Bill Montgomery, "The Bowers Disclosure Damage Control", Atlanta Journal-Constitution , June 7, 1997.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Major General Michael J. Bowers". National Guard Bureau. February 2001. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
  5. ↑ Adele Brinkley, "Bowers sets forth his ideas for Georgia," Henry Herald, February 7, 1997 (in a political speech, Bowers stated that he was the grandson of a sharecropper who bled to death from lack of medical care and that his dad was a truck driver).
  6. ↑ Georgia Dept. of Human Resources v. Sistrunk, 249 Ga. 543 (1982).
  7. ↑ Caldwell v. State, 171 Ga. App. 680 (1984); "Convicted Georgia Aide Vows to Oust Witness", New York Times, April 28, 1984; "Sam Caldwell, Ex-Labor Commish Dies," AP Online, March 4, 2001 Archived 2012-11-02 at the Wayback Machine .
  8. ↑ State v. Shepherd Const. Co., 248 Ga. 1 (1981).
  9. ↑ "Bowers Action sets example and creates opportunity for others," Athens Daily News, May 6, 1997.
  10. ↑ Bill Shipp, "Test time for new Att. Gen.," Marietta Daily Journal, May 28, 1997.
  11. ↑ Our Georgia History
  12. ↑ "National News Briefs; Republican Concedes in Georgia Primary", The New York Times , July 29, 1998.
  13. ↑ 478 U.S. 186 (1983).
  14. ↑ Powell v. State, 270 Ga. 327 (1998).
  15. ↑ 539 U.S. 558 (2003),
  16. ↑ Douglas-Brown, Laura (12 July 2001). "Bowers v Hardwick at 15". Southern Voice. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  17. ↑ Lewin, Tamar (11 Mar 1992). "Judge Affirms Suit by Lesbian Over Withdrawal of Job Offer". New York Times. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  18. ↑ Shahar v. Bowers, 114 F.3d 1097 (11th Cir. 1997).
  19. ↑ Bogle v. McClure, 332 F.3d 1347 (11th Cir. 2003).
  20. ↑ Olson, Walter (9 January 2004). "There goes the library budget". Overlawyered: Chronicling the high cost of our legal system. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  21. ↑ "Balch & Bingham LLP".
  22. ↑ Massey, Bowers & Hembree (19 Jan 2003). "New business for Bowers". Atlanta Business Chronicle. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  23. ↑ Fausset, Richard (March 6, 2015). "Unlikely Allies in a Gay Rights Battle in Georgia". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  24. ↑ "Former Attorney General Mike Bowers Leaves Balch & Bingham for Athens Firm". Daily Report. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  25. ↑ "Honorary Degrees Awarded by Oglethorpe University". Oglethorpe University. Archived from the original on 2015-03-19. Retrieved 2015-03-13.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.