Attorney General Paul Douglas
Paul
Douglas, (c1927- 4 November 2012) was a former Nebraska Attorney
General.
A former Lancaster County attorney who assisted with
the prosecution of mass killer Charles Starkweather,
Douglas served as attorney general from 1975 to 1984.
However, his public career ended in a stunning series of events
brought about by his personal business relationship with
Commonwealth Vice President Marvin Copple, who served time in prison
for the Lincoln institution's failure. Thousands of Commonwealth
depositors lost heavily when funds meant to insure their accounts
proved insufficient to cover the deposits.
In 1984, the
Nebraska Legislature impeached Douglas, an action later reversed by
the State Supreme Court. Douglas was then convicted of felony
perjury, which prompted the suspension of his law license. He
resigned after the suspension.
After his resignation, Douglas
successfully appealed the perjury conviction and started his own
single-lawyer office in Lincoln.
He practiced law until his
death, most recently providing counsel to some of the Gage County
law enforcement authorities sued in the Beatrice Six wrongful
conviction case.
Although Douglas could not fully escape the
Commonwealth scandal, he was well-liked and respected in the legal
community, said retired Lancaster County Judge Janice Gradwohl, a
longtime friend.
Douglas made Gradwohl the first female
prosecutor in Lancaster County, she said. He always stressed to his
deputies that they bring a prosecution only when they had sufficient
evidence to prove wrongdoing. He also inspired staff members to go
beyond the minimum requirements of their jobs, she said. As a
result, attorneys often came to work on most government holidays.
Douglas was born in Sioux Falls, S.D. He joined the U.S.
Marines and served two years during World War II in the Pacific and
China and was called back for the Korean War.
Upon his
return, he graduated from Augustana College in Sioux Falls and
earned his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Nebraska
College of Law. Douglas was a past president of the Lincoln Bar
Association, member of the Nebraska State Bar Association, past
president of the Nebraska County Attorneys Association, a director
of the National Association of District Attorneys, member of the
National Association of Attorney Generals and past chairman of the
Nebraska Crime Commission.
He was a fan of all University of
Nebraska sports and a member of the Greek Orthodox Church of the
Annunciation.
Douglas died 4th November 2012 in Lincoln. He
was 85. He is survived by his wife, Ardis.
Any contributions will be
gratefully accepted
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