Powell, Lewis Franklin, Jr. (1907-1998), was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1972 to 1987. President Richard M. Nixon nominated him to fill the vacancy created when Justice Hugo L. Black retired.
Powell was born on Sept. 19, 1907, in Suffolk, Virginia. He attended Washington and Lee University and graduated from the university’s law school in 1931. He earned a master’s degree from the Harvard Law School the next year. From 1932 to 1972, Powell practiced law in Richmond, Virginia, and was regarded as one of the state’s most distinguished lawyers. Powell served as president of the American Bar Association in 1964 and 1965. In that position, he proposed various improvements in court procedures and in legal aid to the poor.
On the Supreme Court, Powell generally held conservative views, especially in cases involving criminal justice. For example, he supported state laws imposing the death penalty. However, he often provided the decisive “swing vote” in the court’s 5-4 decisions. In 1986, he cast the deciding vote in two major court rulings viewed as victories for liberals. One of these decisions supported affirmative-action programs, and the other reaffirmed the court’s 1973 ruling establishing a woman’s right to have an abortion. He died on Aug. 25, 1998.
