![](3D"http://galvestondailynews.com/announcements/photos/Simpson,%20Jame=)
James P. Simpson AUSTIN=20
=97 James Polk Simpson, a trial lawyer, former special =
assistant=20
attorney general and FBI agent, and veteran of World =
War II,=20
died in Austin on November 27, 2010. He was =
87.
Jim=20
Simpson was born on September 27, 1923 in Corpus =
Christi.=20
During World War II he flew 59 missions over France, =
Germany,=20
and Belgium as a navigator and bombardier in the 451st =
Bombardment Squadron of the 9th U.S. Air Force. =
He=20
graduated from the University of Texas School of Law =
in 1950=20
and later attended the FBI Academy in Quantico, =
Virginia. He=20
was assigned to the Chicago and Minneapolis offices of =
the=20
FBI. In the Minneapolis office of the FBI he met =
Constance Ann=20
Griffith, a stenographer who would become his=20
wife.
After marriage, Simpson left the FBI to =
practice=20
law in Galveston County. In 1954, at the age of 30, =
Simpson=20
ran for Galveston County district attorney on a =
platform of=20
enforcing the laws against gambling, prostitution, and =
organized crime. After winning a plurality in the =
Democratic=20
primary, he lost the runoff by eight votes.
In =
1957,=20
Simpson was appointed special assistant attorney =
general by=20
Texas Attorney General Will Wilson. With the =
assistance of two=20
civilian investigators, James D. =93Buddy=94 Givens =
and Carroll=20
Yaws, who were refinery workers in Texas City, Simpson =
built=20
cases against scores of illegal businesses in =
Galveston=20
County. He used an unusual tactic of obtaining civil=20
injunctions against the gamblers. Search warrants and=20
injunctions were prepared in secrecy at Simpson=92s =
home in=20
Texas City by his wife Connie.
The first 47=20
injunctions were served on June 10, 1957 for the =
offenses of=20
gambling, prostitution, and liquor violations. Nearly =
200=20
injunctions eventually resulted from the =
investigations.=20
As a lawyer, Simpson later represented scores =
of=20
workers injured in the refineries and chemical plants =
on the=20
Texas Gulf Coast. In 1966 he helped establish College =
of the=20
Mainland and served as president of its board of =
trustees for=20
two terms and as a trustee for 23 years.
He =
also=20
represented plaintiffs in a number of cases involving=20
Constitutional law, including a case involving a high =
school=20
senior who was expelled for being pregnant. Before the =
Court=20
of Appeals he successfully argued, =93For the first =
time in the=20
history of our Republic it has been asserted that =
motherhood=20
is a sufficient basis for the denial of a free public=20
education.=94
Another pro bono client was a =
high school=20
student expelled from Texas City High School for =
publishing an=20
unauthorized newspaper. Simpson argued that the school =
district could not teach students about the sanctity =
of the=20
First Amendment while simultaneously violating their =
First=20
Amendment right to free speech. A Federal judge =
concurred and=20
the student was readmitted.
Family, friends, =
and=20
colleagues remember Simpson for his courtly manner, =
passion=20
for justice, gift for language and public speaking, =
and=20
gregarious nature. His life was shaped by growing up =
poor in=20
Depression-era Texas, leaving him with a strong =
affinity for=20
the underdog. He was active in Democratic Party =
politics, and=20
for decades Simpson=92s law office was an early stop =
on the=20
itinerary of any aspiring candidate for the Democratic =
nomination for public office in the county.
In =
2007 the=20
Eakin Press published Simpson=92s memoir, Flak Bait: =
Eight=20
Decades Dodging Flak as a Bombardier, FBI Agent, Trial =
Lawyer,=20
and Texas Maverick.
Jim Simpson moved from =
Galveston=20
County to Longhorn Village, a senior community in =
Austin, in=20
2010. He is survived by his wife, Connie Simpson of =
Austin;=20
daughter and son-in-law, Simone and Geoff Leavenworth =
of=20
Austin; sons Scott Simpson and James Griffith Simpson =
of=20
Dickinson, and Gregory Simpson of Austin; =
grandchildren Robert=20
and Jennifer Simpson and Mark and James Leavenworth; =
great=20
grandchildren Leslie and Eva Simpson; sister Pat =
Simpson=20
Hollenbeck; and a large extended =
family.
Visitation=20
will be Tuesday, November 30, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at =
Crowder=20
Funeral Home in Dickinson.
The funeral service =
will be=20
at 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, Dec. 1, at Faith Lutheran =
Church,=20
800 FM 517 East in Dickinson.
Memorials may be =
made to=20
the College of the Mainland Foundation or the Adult =
Care=20
Ministry of Faith Lutheran Church.
James Crowder Funeral =
Home-Dickinson
Published December 1, =
2010
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