Former Georgia Chief Justice Harold Clarke has died.
Justice Clarke, who was 85, died Tuesday night at his home in Forsyth.
He served on the Supreme Court of Georgia from 1979 to 1994, presiding as Chief Justice starting in 1990.
Clarke began his career as a journalist. As a lawyer, he served as Chair of the State Bar of Georgia.
Clarke also served in the Georgia House of Representatives for ten years.
Judge Clarke sat down for a video interview in 2009 as part of an oral history project at the Richard Russell Library for Political Research and Studies at the University of Georgia. The project, called Reflections on Georgia Politics, conducted video interviews with over 100 people who were prominently involved with Georgia politics during the Civil Rights era and afterwards. The video interview with Judge Clarke, as with all of the participants, is freely available for download.
Here is a brief 2009 biographical sketch of Judge Clarke from Reflections on Georgia Politics:
Harold G. Clarke was born September 28, 1927 in Forsyth, Georgia. He attended the University of Georgia before being drafted into the U.S. Army during World War II. He was the managing editor of the Stars and Stripes while stationed in Japan. He returned to the University of Georgia, and earned his law degree in 1950. In 1960, he was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives as a Democrat. In the legislature, he authored several bills and plans, including Abolish Atlanta and the Clarke Plan. In 1966, he participated in the legislative initiative to elect Governor Lester Maddox over Bo Callaway. He left the legislature to practice law in Forsyth. In 1979, he was appointed to the Georgia Supreme Court, where he handled several important cases and issues. He then joined Troutman Sanders LLP, and chaired the joint commission on alternative dispute resolution. He is retired.
9(MDAxODM0MDY4MDEyMTY4NDA3MzI3YjkzMw004))
