James_Waddey_Clark
James Waddey Clark
American judge (1877–1939)
James Waddey "J.W." Clark (December 8, 1877 – February 24, 1939) was a justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court from 1925 to 1933. He was born in Allisona, Williamson County, Tennessee to Joseph Poindexter and Cora Belle Waddey.[1][2] After finishing public school, James became a traveling salesman, then went into the mercantile business, and finally went into business for himself. He took a course in law in 1907 and 1908, then enrolled in Cumberland University (Lebanon, Tennessee) in 1909.[lower-alpha 1] By 1910, he had opened a law practice and won election to the Oklahoma legislature.[lower-alpha 2] In 1912, he was elected County Attorney for Atoka County, Oklahoma and was reelected after his first two-year term expired. In 1917, he returned to private law practice in Atoka, where he remained until he won election to the Oklahoma Supreme Court in 1924, filling a vacancy and taking office in 1925. He was reelected for a full 6-year term in 1926.[2]
In 1929, the Oklahoma Legislature attempted to impeach Clark, with the Oklahoma House of Representatives voting out eleven impeachment charges against Clark alleging corruption; however, he was acquitted by one vote in the Oklahoma Senate, and served out the remainder of his term.[5][6] After returning to private practice for a time, Clark again ran for a seat on the court in 1938,[7] but was not elected.