82R7611 MMS-D
By: Eiland H.R. No. 518
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, James Polk Simpson, a renowned Galveston attorney
who dramatically altered the ambiance of that city in the 1950s,
passed away in Austin on November 27, 2010, at the age of 87; and
WHEREAS, Born in Corpus Christi on September 27, 1923, Jim
Simpson served in World War II as a navigator and bombardier with
the 451st Bombardment Squadron, 322nd Bombardment Group, 9th Air
Force, and flew 59 missions over France, Germany, and Belgium; and
WHEREAS, After leaving the service, he earned a law degree
from The University of Texas in 1950 and then joined the FBI; his
assignments with the bureau took him to Chicago and to Minneapolis,
where he met his future wife, Constance Ann Griffith, who was then
working as an FBI stenographer; the couple married in 1952 and moved
to Galveston, where Mr. Simpson began to practice law; and
WHEREAS, At the time, Galveston and the surrounding county
were home to a number of illegal establishments that operated with
no fear of interference from local officials; in 1954, Mr. Simpson
ran for the office of county district attorney, vowing to rid the
city of these types of businesses; he lost by a mere eight votes in
the primary runoff, but three years later he got another
opportunity when he was named special assistant attorney general;
and
WHEREAS, Using the authority of his new office, Mr. Simpson
hired two refinery workers as undercover agents and set about
filing civil injunctions; because those being targeted had
connections in the county courthouse, Mrs. Simpson prepared the
search warrants and other legal paperwork in secret at the couple's
home; ultimately, nearly 200 injunctions were served against both
individuals and properties; and
WHEREAS, In his work as an attorney, Mr. Simpson demonstrated
an enduring empathy for the underdog, a sympathy born of his
experience growing up poor during the Depression; among the clients
he represented in his legal practice were many individuals who had
suffered work-related injuries in Texas refineries and chemical
plants; and
WHEREAS, Deeply engaged in civic affairs, Jim Simpson served
as a trustee of the College of the Mainland for 23 years and
presided for two terms as president of the board; he was also a key
figure in local Democratic Party politics; this esteemed Texan
recounted his colorful career in a 2007 memoir titled Flak Bait:
Eight Decades Dodging Flak as a Bombardier, FBI Agent, Trial
Lawyer, and Texas Maverick; and
WHEREAS, In the Galveston Daily News article that marked his
passing, Mr. Simpson was remembered "for his courtly manner,
passion for justice, gift for language and public speaking, and
gregarious nature"; he was a Texas original, and he will be missed;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of James Polk Simpson and
extend sincere sympathy to the members of his family: to his wife,
Connie Simpson; to his daughter and her husband, Simone and Geoff
Leavenworth; to his sons, Scott, James, and Gregory Simpson; to his
grandchildren, Robert and Jennifer Simpson and Mark and James
Leavenworth; to his great-grandchildren, Leslie and Eva Simpson; to
his sister, Pat Simpson Hollenbeck; and to his many other relatives
and friends; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of James Polk
Simpson.