Clark, Ramsey definition of Clark, Ramsey in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Clark, Ramsey, 1927–, attorney general of the United States (1967–69), b. Dallas, Tex.; son of Tom Campbell Clark Clark, Tom Campbell, 1899–1977, U.S. Attorney General (1945–49), associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1949–67), b. Dallas, Tex.; father of Ramsey Clark . He received his law degree from the Univ. of Texas. Clark joined the Justice Dept.
..... Click the link for more information. . Admitted to the bar in 1951, Ramsey Clark practiced law in Dallas. After serving in the federal government as assistant attorney general in charge of the lands division (1961–65), deputy attorney general (1965–66), and acting attorney general (Oct., 1966–Feb., 1967), he was appointed by President Johnson Johnson, Lyndon Baines, 1908–73, 36th President of the United States (1963–69), b. near Stonewall, Tex.

Early Life

Born into a farm family, he graduated (1930) from Southwest Texas State Teachers College (now Southwest Texas State Univ.
..... Click the link for more information. to succeed Nicholas Katzenbach as attorney general. Clark proved to be a vigorous defender of civil liberties and civil rights; he opposed the use of government wiretaps and initiated the first Northern school desegregation case. After leaving the government, he taught law and later became active in the anti–Vietnam War movement, visiting North Vietnam in 1972. In 1974 he was the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate from New York but was defeated by Jacob Javits Javits, Jacob Koppel, 1904–86, American political leader, b. New York City, LL.B., New York Univ., 1927. He and his brother, Benjamin A. Javits (1894–1973), developed a flourishing legal practice. Entering politics as a supporter of Fiorello H.
..... Click the link for more information. ; he also failed in a second Senate run in 1976.

Subsequently he practiced as a defense lawyer in New York and continued his political activism. He founded the International Action Center (associated with the Trotskyite Workers' World party), which, like Clark, has opposed various forms of "oppression" by the United States, including military actions, the death penalty, and globalization. Clark has defended or supported Philip Berrigan (see Berrigan brothers Daniel Berrigan, 1921–, b. Syracuse, N.Y., was trained in the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and ordained in 1952. Travels in France exposed him to the worker-priest movement, and after teaching at secondary schools and at LeMoyne College, he devoted himself in the 1960s to civil
..... Click the link for more information. ), Slobodan Milošević Milošević, Slobodan (slôbô`dän mēlô`shəvĭch')
..... Click the link for more information. , Bosnian Serb leader and accused war criminal Radovan Karadzic, Rwandan clergyman and convicted genocide instigator Elizaphan Ntakirutimana, and Saddam Hussein Hussein, Saddam (sädäm` h
..... Click the link for more information. (acting as a defense attorney at his trial in Iraq beginning in 2005). Clark wrote Crime in America (1970).

Bibliography

For an account of his career as Attorney General, see Justice by Richard Harris (1970).

Clark, Ramsey (William) (1927– ) attorney general, political activist; born in Dallas, Texas. Son of former Supreme Court justice Tom C. Clark, he was named attorney general (1967–69) during the raucous anti-Vietnam War years. Although he prosecuted activists such as the Berrigan brothers, Clark was known to be a liberal who moved further to the left in his beliefs and causes after returning to private practice. Twice an unsuccessful candidate for U.S. Senate from New York (1970s), he returned to public prominence (1980–90s) as an outspoken critic of two Republican administrations. He himself was roundly criticized for support of extremist politicians like Lyndon LaRouche—regarded by most as an ultra-right extremist—and Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, and he became a mystery to former backers.