Briscoe Center acquires papers of Judge John Singleton
Johnson confidant tried fraud, corruption, and organized crime cases as federal judge
February 25, 2014
AUSTIN, Texas — The Briscoe Center has acquired the papers of retired Federal Judge John V. Singleton. A political confidant of President Lyndon Johnson since the 1940s, Singleton was a regional coordinator for the 1964 Johnson-Humphrey campaign. Singleton was also responsible for organizing President John F. Kennedy’s reception, motorcade, and departure from Houston on November 21, 1963.
In 1966 Singleton was appointed Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, and Chief Judge in 1979. He presided over many cases involving fraud, corruption, and organized crime.
“Judge Singleton’s career spans a turbulent period of American history already well documented in the center’s holdings,” said Don Carleton, executive director of the Briscoe Center. “His papers will provide scholars and students with interesting insights into the judicial, political, and criminal landscape of Texas in the late twentieth century.”
The archive includes photos, resumes, court opinions, trial documents, case files, and transcripts of oral history interviews, as well as correspondence with President John F. Kennedy, President Lyndon B. Johnson, Governor John Connally, and Congressman Jim Wright. The archive also includes documents and ephemera relating to Kennedy’s visit to Texas in 1963. Singleton received his law degree from the University of Texas at Austin. After passing the Texas bar in 1942, he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Following the war, he practiced law in Houston. Singleton retired from the bench in 1992.
Guide to the John Singleton Papers:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utcah/01743/cah-01743.html
