Hayden C. Covington
Encyclopedia
Hayden Cooper Covington (January 19, 1911 – November 21, 1978) was legal counsel for the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society during one of its most difficult periods in the mid-20th century. Hayden Covington has a record 37 victories in the United States Supreme Court, the most since the Judiciary Act of 1869 which fixed the Supreme Court of the United States to 9 Justices. He argued numerous cases before the United States Supreme Court on behalf of Jehovah’s Witnesses in defense of their religious freedoms, winning most of them. In 1967, he famously defended then world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali
in his legal battle against the draft
during the Vietnam War
.
, and reared on a farm near Dallas
, Texas
. His father was a Texas Ranger
.
An able student, Covington worked his way through law school in San Antonio, successfully passing the Texas bar exam, with an impressively high score, one year before graduation. He was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1933.
in San Antonio.
Word of Covington's successes in defending the Witnesses reached the New York
headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses, and he was asked by President Rutherford to join him in representing the Society on a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. He was then invited to join headquarters staff as general counsel in 1939, succeeding Olin R. Moyle
.
When "Judge" Rutherford died in January 1942, his aggressive litigation policy was carried on by Covington. Honoring Rutherford's deathbed wishes, Hayden Covington was even elected Vice-President of the Watch Tower Society succeeding the newly elected President, Nathan H. Knorr, despite having been a Jehovah's Witnesses for only five years. Throughout most of its history, appointment to the board of directors of the Watch Tower Society, and thus by implication to the "Governing Body" of Jehovah's Witnesses, has been limited to those professing to be of the "anointed class
" within the group; the "spirit begotten" sons of God who would "rule as Kings" in heaven
with Christ
. To date, the one exception has been Hayden C. Covington. A subsequent policy change resulted in Covington's resignation from the Vice Presidency and departure from the board in 1945, although remaining on staff as legal counsel.
In the following years, Hayden Covington came to be hailed as one of the greatest civil liberties attorneys in American history. During his tenure as the head of the Watch Tower Society's Legal Department, Covington is said to have presented 111 petitions and appeals to the Supreme Court; he won well above 80% of the 44 cases he brought before the Court. The cases dealt with issues ranging from compulsory flag-salute statutes, to street preaching, to door-to-door literature distribution. He eventually resigned as Head of the Watch Tower Society's Legal Department.
That meeting apparently occurred on Friday, September 6, 1946. President Truman eventually did pardon 136 Jehovah's Witnesses who had been convicted in draft cases. Later, on October 12, 1951, Truman reportedly accepted the offered Jehovah's Witnesses publication What Has Religion Done for Mankind?.
was his extensive experience with the U.S. Selective Service System
and draft boards across the nation, where he had realized many successes while representing Jehovah's Witnesses. Covington sued Ali to recover $247,000 in legal fees.
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
in his legal battle against the draft
Conscription in the United States
Conscription in the United States has been employed several times, usually during war but also during the nominal peace of the Cold War...
during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
Early life
Covington was born in East TexasEast Texas
East Texas is a distinct geographic and ecological area in the U.S. state of Texas.According to the Handbook of Texas, the East Texas area "may be separated from the rest of Texas roughly by a line extending from the Red River in north central Lamar County southwestward to east central Limestone...
, and reared on a farm near 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...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. His father was a Texas Ranger
Texas Ranger Division
The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers, is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in Texas, and is based in Austin, Texas...
.
An able student, Covington worked his way through law school in San Antonio, successfully passing the Texas bar exam, with an impressively high score, one year before graduation. He was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1933.
Jehovah's Witnesses
Covington was attracted to the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses and impressed by the dedication and character of the members, defending several of them in Texas courts prior to formally joining the group himself. His first exposure to their teachings was through listening to the broadcast sermons of Watch Tower Society President Joseph F. Rutherford on radio station KTSAKTSA
KTSA is a News-Talk formatted radio station in San Antonio, Texas. The weekday schedule offers 10 hours of local talk, hosted by Trey Ware , Jack Riccardi , and Sean Rima . KTSA also carries all three hours of "The Dave Ramsey Show" live . Evening and overnight hours include programming from...
in San Antonio.
Word of Covington's successes in defending the Witnesses reached the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses, and he was asked by President Rutherford to join him in representing the Society on a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. He was then invited to join headquarters staff as general counsel in 1939, succeeding Olin R. Moyle
Olin R. Moyle
Olin Richmond Moyle was legal counsel for the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society from 1935 to 1939. He helped represent Jehovah's Witnesses in two cases before the United States Supreme Court, which set new precedents on First Amendment freedoms. A dispute with Watch Tower Society president J. F....
.
When "Judge" Rutherford died in January 1942, his aggressive litigation policy was carried on by Covington. Honoring Rutherford's deathbed wishes, Hayden Covington was even elected Vice-President of the Watch Tower Society succeeding the newly elected President, Nathan H. Knorr, despite having been a Jehovah's Witnesses for only five years. Throughout most of its history, appointment to the board of directors of the Watch Tower Society, and thus by implication to the "Governing Body" of Jehovah's Witnesses, has been limited to those professing to be of the "anointed class
Jehovah's Witnesses and salvation
Jehovah's Witnesses teach that salvation is possible only through Christ’s ransom sacrifice and that individuals cannot be saved until they repent of their sins and call on the name of Jehovah. Salvation is described as a free gift from God, but is said to be unattainable without good works that...
" within the group; the "spirit begotten" sons of God who would "rule as Kings" in heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
with Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
. To date, the one exception has been Hayden C. Covington. A subsequent policy change resulted in Covington's resignation from the Vice Presidency and departure from the board in 1945, although remaining on staff as legal counsel.
In the following years, Hayden Covington came to be hailed as one of the greatest civil liberties attorneys in American history. During his tenure as the head of the Watch Tower Society's Legal Department, Covington is said to have presented 111 petitions and appeals to the Supreme Court; he won well above 80% of the 44 cases he brought before the Court. The cases dealt with issues ranging from compulsory flag-salute statutes, to street preaching, to door-to-door literature distribution. He eventually resigned as Head of the Watch Tower Society's Legal Department.
Cases argued before the Supreme Court
- Cantwell v. ConnecticutCantwell v. ConnecticutCantwell v. Connecticut, 310 U.S. 296 , was a United States Supreme Court decision that incorporated the First Amendment's protection of religious free exercise.-Background:...
, 310 U.S. 296 (1940) - Cox v. New HampshireCox v. New HampshireCox v. New Hampshire, 312 U.S. 569 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that, although the government cannot regulate the contents of speech, it can place reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions on speech for the public safety...
, 312 U.S. 569 (1941) - Chaplinsky v. New HampshireChaplinsky v. New HampshireChaplinsky v. State of New Hampshire, was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States, in which the Court articulated the fighting words doctrine, a limitation of the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech.-Facts of the case:...
, 315 U.S. 568 (1942) - West Virginia State Board of Education v. BarnetteWest Virginia State Board of Education v. BarnetteWest Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 , is a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that held that the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution protected students from being forced to salute the American flag and say the...
, 319 U.S. 624 (1943) - Jones v. City of Opelika, 319 U.S. 103 (1943)
- Martin v. City of Struthers, 319 U.S. 141(1943)
- Jamison v. State of TexasJamison v. State of TexasJamison v. State of Texas, 318 U.S. 413 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that a Dallas city ordinance, which prohibited distribution of handbills on the streets, violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment because the material being distributed is...
, 318 U.S. 413 (1943) - Murdock v. Pennsylvania, 319 U.S. 105 (1943)
- Taylor v. State of MississippiTaylor v. State of MississippiTaylor v. State of Mississippi, 319 U.S. 583 , was a case involving three Jehovah's Witnesses in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that criminal sanction cannot be imposed for communication that has not been shown to have been done with an evil or sinister purpose, to have advocated...
, 319 U.S. 583 (1943) - Largent v. Texas, 318 U.S. 418 (1943)
- Follett v. Town of McCormickFollett v. Town of McCormickFollett v. Town of McCormick, 321 U.S. 573 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that people who earn their living by selling or distributing religious materials should not be required to pay the same licensing fees and taxes as those who sell or distribute non-religious...
, 321 U.S. 573 (1944) - Marsh v. AlabamaMarsh v. AlabamaMarsh v. Alabama, , was a case decided by the United States Supreme Court, in which it ruled that a state trespassing statute could not be used to prevent the distribution of religious materials on a town's sidewalk, notwithstanding the fact that the sidewalk where the distribution was taking place...
, 326 U.S. 501 (1946) - Tucker v. TexasTucker v. TexasTucker v. Texas, 326 U.S. 517 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that a state statute making it an offense to distribute literature in a federal government-owned town was an improper restriction on freedom of the press and religion.-History:Tucker was an ordained...
, 326 U.S. 517 (1946) - Saia v. New York, 334 U.S. 558 (1948)
- Niemotko v. MarylandNiemotko v. MarylandNiemotko v. Maryland, 340 U.S. 268 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the city of Havre de Grace, Maryland had violated the free exercise of Niemotko's religion by not issuing a permit for him and his religious group to meet in a public park when other religious...
, 340 U.S. 268 (1951) - Fowler v. Rhode IslandFowler v. Rhode IslandFowler v. Rhode Island, 345 U.S. 67 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that a municipal ordinance which was used to penalize a minister of Jehovah's Witnesses for preaching at a peaceful religious meeting in a public park, although other religious groups could conduct...
, 345 U.S. 67 (1953) - Poulos v. New Hampshire, 345 U.S. 395 (1953)
Meeting with U.S. President Harry Truman
In its chapter on Covington, Great American lawyers: An Encyclopedia relates:
Covington reported one meeting in which he and Knorr met with President Harry Truman about a pardonPardonClemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
for a Witness who had been convicted of evading the draft. Covington claimed that Truman cursed and claimed to have no use "for that SOB who didn't want to die for his country in time of war."
That meeting apparently occurred on Friday, September 6, 1946. President Truman eventually did pardon 136 Jehovah's Witnesses who had been convicted in draft cases. Later, on October 12, 1951, Truman reportedly accepted the offered Jehovah's Witnesses publication What Has Religion Done for Mankind?.
Defense of Muhammad Ali
Later in his career, in 1966 and 1967, Covington assisted prize-fighter Muhammad Ali in obtaining a draft exemption as a Muslim minister. What may have brought him to the attention of Muhammad AliMuhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
was his extensive experience with the U.S. Selective Service System
Selective Service System
The Selective Service System is a means by which the United States government maintains information on those potentially subject to military conscription. Most male U.S. citizens and male immigrant non-citizens between the ages of 18 and 25 are required by law to have registered within 30 days of...
and draft boards across the nation, where he had realized many successes while representing Jehovah's Witnesses. Covington sued Ali to recover $247,000 in legal fees.