Bill Meier
Encyclopedia
William Carl "Bill" Meier (born August 1, 1940) is an attorney
and a former member of the Texas State Senate from Hurst
in Tarrant County
, who holds the world filibuster
record in a legislative body. Meier currently serves as a Justice to the Texas Second Court of Appeals.
, Texas, where he graduated in 1958 from University High School. Afterwards, he attended Tarleton State College
on a basketball scholarship where he received a two-year associate's degree
in science. Meier then moved to Austin
in 1961 to attend the University of Texas
, where he received his Bachelor of Science
degree. In 1966, he received his Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Texas Law School. Meier started practicing law in Dallas, Texas, then moved to Tarrant County in 1969. He is father to three sons: Drew, Roger and Loren.
In the 1974 Texas constitutional convention, which failed to produce a new governing document, Meier was chairman of the committee which formulated the duties and powers of the executive branch. In 1979, Meier was voted among the "Ten Worst Legislators" of that year's session by Texas Monthly magazine, a designation that does not always embarrass the selected member. In that same session, Meier was the president pro tempore of the Texas Senate.
Meier was the unsuccessful Republican
nominee for Texas attorney general
in the 1982 general election
. Mark White
vacated the position to become the Democratic
nominee for governor and successfully challenged Republican William P. Clements, Jr.
, of Dallas. Clements and his entire Republican slate was soundly defeated. Meier lost the race to the Democratic Congressman James Albon Mattox
, who vacated a Dallas
-area U.S. House seat to become attorney general. Mattox won the Democratic nomination over former State Senator Max Sherman
of Amarillo
. In the general election, Mattox utilized campaign rhetoric positioning himself as "the people's lawyer," and suggested that Meier was too closely aligned with the interests of business. Meier forfeited his state senate seat, then based about Euless
in Tarrant County when he ran for the attorney general's office.
On April 28, 2005, Meier was among several dozen living former Texas senators honored by the Texas Legislature
.
Meier currently presides as a Justice on the Texas Second Court of Appeals. In March 2008, Meier won a three-candidate Republican primary, and was subsequently elected to the Court in an unopposed general election.
The previous filibuster record was for "only" twenty-four hours and was held by U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond
of South Carolina
, when Thurmond spoke against the Civil Rights Act of 1957
. Thurmond said that the measure, which created the Civil Rights Commission, an advisory body to Congress, and the Civil Rights Division
of the U.S. Department of Justice, headed by a separate assistant attorney general, was an affront to states' rights
. The law was guided through Congress by two Texans, Speaker
Sam Rayburn
of Bonham
and Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson
, and signed into law by a native-born Texan, President Dwight D. Eisenhower
. At the time of his filibuster against the Civil Rights Act, Thurmond was a segregationist. He later moderated his position on racial matters and served in the Senate from 1954 to 2003, a record tenure since surpassed by Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia
.
Meier and Thurmond have another similarity beyond filibustering. Both switched his party affiliation from the Democratic to the Republican Party; Thurmond in 1964, and Meier in 1981.
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and a former member of the Texas State Senate from Hurst
Hurst, Texas
Hurst is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States. Hurst is one of the Mid-Cities between Fort Worth and Dallas, but is a suburb of Fort Worth. The city was founded by William Letchworth Hurst...
in Tarrant County
Tarrant County, Texas
Tarrant County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, it had a population of 1,809,034. Its county seat is Fort Worth. Tarrant County is the sixteenth most populous county in the United States and the third most populous in Texas. The county is named in honor...
, who holds the world filibuster
Filibuster
A filibuster is a type of parliamentary procedure. Specifically, it is the right of an individual to extend debate, allowing a lone member to delay or entirely prevent a vote on a given proposal...
record in a legislative body. Meier currently serves as a Justice to the Texas Second Court of Appeals.
Biography
Bill Meier was reared in WacoWaco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
, Texas, where he graduated in 1958 from University High School. Afterwards, he attended Tarleton State College
Tarleton State University
Tarleton State University is a public, coeducational, state university located in Stephenville, Texas. It is the largest non-land-grant university primarily devoted to agriculture in the United States....
on a basketball scholarship where he received a two-year associate's degree
Associate's degree
An associate degree is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges, technical colleges, and bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years...
in science. Meier then moved to Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
in 1961 to attend the University of Texas
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
, where he received his Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree. In 1966, he received his Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Texas Law School. Meier started practicing law in Dallas, Texas, then moved to Tarrant County in 1969. He is father to three sons: Drew, Roger and Loren.
In the 1974 Texas constitutional convention, which failed to produce a new governing document, Meier was chairman of the committee which formulated the duties and powers of the executive branch. In 1979, Meier was voted among the "Ten Worst Legislators" of that year's session by Texas Monthly magazine, a designation that does not always embarrass the selected member. In that same session, Meier was the president pro tempore of the Texas Senate.
Meier was the unsuccessful Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
nominee for Texas attorney general
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
in the 1982 general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
. Mark White
Mark White
Mark Wells White is an American lawyer, who served as the 43rd Governor of Texas from January 18,1983-January 20,1987.-Biography:...
vacated the position to become the Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
nominee for governor and successfully challenged Republican William P. Clements, Jr.
Bill Clements
William Perry "Bill" Clements, Jr. was the 42nd and 44th Governor of Texas, serving from 1979 to 1983 and 1987 to 1991. Clements was the first Republican to have served as governor of the U.S. state of Texas since Reconstruction...
, of Dallas. Clements and his entire Republican slate was soundly defeated. Meier lost the race to the Democratic Congressman James Albon Mattox
Jim Mattox
James Albon Mattox was a Dallas lawyer and Texas Democratic politician who served three terms in the United States House of Representatives and two four-year terms as state Attorney General, but lost high profile races for Governor in 1990, the U.S. Senate in 1994, and again as attorney general...
, who vacated a Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
-area U.S. House seat to become attorney general. Mattox won the Democratic nomination over former State Senator Max Sherman
Max Sherman
Max Ray Sherman is a former member of the Texas State Senate from Amarillo, Texas. He was also president of West Texas A&M University in Canyon, and dean of the Lyndon B...
of Amarillo
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo is the 14th-largest city, by population, in the state of Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The population was 190,695 at the 2010 census...
. In the general election, Mattox utilized campaign rhetoric positioning himself as "the people's lawyer," and suggested that Meier was too closely aligned with the interests of business. Meier forfeited his state senate seat, then based about Euless
Euless, Texas
Euless, known as "Tree City USA," is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States, and a suburb of Fort Worth. Euless is part of the Mid-Cities between Dallas and Fort Worth...
in Tarrant County when he ran for the attorney general's office.
On April 28, 2005, Meier was among several dozen living former Texas senators honored by the Texas Legislature
Texas Legislature
The Legislature of the state of Texas is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The Legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin...
.
Meier currently presides as a Justice on the Texas Second Court of Appeals. In March 2008, Meier won a three-candidate Republican primary, and was subsequently elected to the Court in an unopposed general election.
Filibuster
In May 1977, near the close of the regular session, Meier spoke for forty-three hours against a worker's compensation bill that he considered "anti-business" in scope. His activity blocked the bill from being considered in the waning hours of the session.The previous filibuster record was for "only" twenty-four hours and was held by U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond
Strom Thurmond
James Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served as a United States Senator. He also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1948 as the segregationist States Rights Democratic Party candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral votes...
of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, when Thurmond spoke against the Civil Rights Act of 1957
Civil Rights Act of 1957
The Civil Rights Act of 1957, , primarily a voting rights bill, was the first civil rights legislation enacted by Congress in the United States since Reconstruction following the American Civil War.Following the historic US Supreme Court ruling in Brown v...
. Thurmond said that the measure, which created the Civil Rights Commission, an advisory body to Congress, and the Civil Rights Division
United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division
The U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division is the institution within the federal government responsible for enforcing federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, sex, disability, religion, and national origin. The Division was established on December 9, 1957, by...
of the U.S. Department of Justice, headed by a separate assistant attorney general, was an affront to states' rights
States' rights
States' rights in U.S. politics refers to political powers reserved for the U.S. state governments rather than the federal government. It is often considered a loaded term because of its use in opposition to federally mandated racial desegregation...
. The law was guided through Congress by two Texans, Speaker
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...
Sam Rayburn
Sam Rayburn
Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn , often called "Mr. Sam," or "Mr. Democrat," was a Democratic lawmaker from Bonham, Texas, who served as the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives for seventeen years, the longest tenure in U.S. history.- Background :Rayburn was born in Roane County, Tennessee, and...
of Bonham
Bonham, Texas
Bonham is a city in Fannin County, Texas, United States. The population was 10,127 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Fannin County. James Bonham sought the aid of James Fannin at the Battle of the Alamo....
and Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
, and signed into law by a native-born Texan, President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
. At the time of his filibuster against the Civil Rights Act, Thurmond was a segregationist. He later moderated his position on racial matters and served in the Senate from 1954 to 2003, a record tenure since surpassed by Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
.
Meier and Thurmond have another similarity beyond filibustering. Both switched his party affiliation from the Democratic to the Republican Party; Thurmond in 1964, and Meier in 1981.