Warren L. Bishop

Warren L. Bishop (1890–1939) was an American lawyer and politician who served as District Attorney of Middlesex County, Massachusetts from 1931 to 1939.

Warren L. Bishop
District Attorney of Middlesex County, Massachusetts
In office
1931–1939
Preceded byRobert T. Bushnell
Succeeded byRobert F. Bradford
Personal details
Born1890
Wayland, Massachusetts
DiedDecember 17, 1939 (aged 49)
Cochituate, Massachusetts
Political partyDemocratic (1907-1919)
Republican (1919-1938)
Democratic (1938-1939)
Alma materBoston University School of Law
OccupationAttorney

Early life

Bishop was born in 1890 in Wayland, Massachusetts to George W. and Gertrude Langmaid Bishop. He attended public school in Wayland and the Boston University School of Law. He was admitted to the bar following his graduation in 1912.[1][2]

Politics

Municipal office

Bishop made his first political speech at the age of 17 and spent a number of years stumping for the Democratic Party.[2] At the age of 21 he was elected town clerk of Wayland. He left office to serve in the coastal artillery World War I, but returned after his military service and remained in office until 1924. He concurrently served as Wayland's town counsel for 10 years.[1] From 1926 to 1930 he was a member of the Wayland school committee and 1926 to 1939 he was town moderator.[2][3]

In 1919, Bishop was the Democratic nominee for the Massachusetts Senate seat in the 5th Middlesex District. However, on October 30, 1919, he left the race and the Democratic party stating "I refuse to be in partnership with Bolshevism and anarchy, and for that reason I shall cast my vote...for the one great, true, patriotic manly man...Calvin Coolidge".[4]

Assistant District Attorney

On December 22, 1922, Arthur Kenneth Reading, District Attorney-elect of Middlesex County, appointed Bishop as one of his assistants.[1] He was retained by Reading's successor, Robert T. Bushnell.[5] During his tenure as Bushnell’s first assistant, Bishop prosecuted over 6,000 cases.[2] He obtained the first two convictions of Bushnell's administration - one for statutory rape and another for breaking and entering.[6] In 1927, Bishop made the unusual move of arguing for the defense in a case he was prosecuting. The two defendants, who were Canadian tourists accused of attempting to break into a gas station, were immediately found not guilty.[7] That April he handled the Harvard riot case, as Bushnell, a Harvard graduated wanted someone with no connection to the school to handled the case. All 11 defendants entered Nolo contendere and were placed on probation.[8][9]

District Attorney

In 1930, Bishop entered the race to succeed Bushnell as district attorney.[3] He won the Republican nomination and defeated his Democratic opponent by over 35,000 votes.[10] In 1931 he ordered the arrest of Edwin T. McKnight, president of the Medford Trust Company.[11] McKnight and one of the bank's directors, Frank W. Lovering were convicted of four felonies and two misdemeanors and were fined $5,000 and $2,500, respectively.[12] In 1933, McKnight was convicted of larceny and sentenced to two years in the Middlesex House of Correction. He was granted early release for good behavior but he refused in order to delay his move to Charlestown State Prison.[13]

In 1933, Bishop began conducting a number of gambling raids. On August 26, 20 state troopers raided the Middlesex Motor Club in Lexington and seized illegal gambling equipment and liquor.[14] The following day, Bishop personally led a raid of the Hamilton Club in Everett, which led to two arrests on liquor charges.[15] On September 7, 300 slot machines were seized from the premises of the American Candy Company in Cambridge.[16] In 1934, Bishop was reelected over Lowell, Massachusetts mayor James J. Bruin 176,583 votes to 145,549.[17]

In 1936, Bishop nol prosed an assault and battery by means of dangerous weapons case against Cornelius V.S. Roosevelt and Peter de Florez.[18]

On March 8, 1937, Bishop announced that he was forming his own detective bureau and requested that all state detectives in the county be removed. This action came after state Public Safety Commissioner Paul G. Kirk Sr. moved a state detective assigned to the DA’s office against Bishop's wishes.[19]

Run for Governor

On February 7, 1935, Bishop announced his candidacy for Governor of Massachusetts in the 1936 election.[20] He ran on a platform of "rigid adherence to Constitutional principles", cooperation with industrial enterprises, creation of government-funded old age pensions, job creation, removing barriers to industry, and a sound tax system.[21] On April 17, 1936 he fired his lead assistant, Frank G. Volpe, accusing him of "disloyalty". According to Volpe, he was dismissed because he refused to "go on the stump for him as Governor" as Volpe's former boss, Robert T. Bushnell, was also a candidate in the race.[22] Bishop ran well behind the Republican frontrunners John W. Haigis and Leverett Saltonstall and dropped out of the race before the party convention.[23]

Defeat for reelection

In June 1938, Robert F. Bradford announced that he would challenge Bishop for district attorney. Shortly thereafter, a group of Republican leaders, former district attorneys, and lawyers including Robert Bushnell, Frank Volpe, Sinclair Weeks, Daniel Needham, and Benjamin Loring Young announced that they would support Bradford for District Attorney "as a public duty and necessity". Former state party chairman George G. Tarbell resigned from the Republican state committee to serve as Bradford's campaign treasurer.[24] During his campaign Bradford criticized Bishop for trying a low number of cases (19 in 8 years), no-prossing almost 20% of the cases in his jurisdiction, and replacing the state police with his own force that included his son (who was still in school) and other untrained individuals.[25] One of Bishop's assistant district attorneys, Julius H. Wolfson, resigned in order to support Bradford.[26] Bradford defeated Bishop by a margin of 20,000 votes. It was the first time in the county's history that an incumbent district attorney lost his party's nomination.[27] Following his defeat, Bishop supported the Democratic nominee, Joseph V. Carroll, over Bradford.[28]

Death

On December 16, 1939, Bishop suffered a heart attack at his office. He died at his home in Cochituate, Massachusetts the following day.[2]

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References
  1. "Reading Announces His Four Assistants". The Boston Daily Globe. December 23, 1922.
  2. "Ex-Dist. Atty. Warren L. Bishop Is Dead at 49". The Boston Daily Globe. December 18, 1939.
  3. "Bishop Enters Field for Bushnell's Post". The Boston Daily Globe. January 29, 1930.
  4. "Warren L. Bishop Bolts Democratic Ticket". The Boston Daily Globe. October 31, 1919.
  5. "Bushnell Names Four Assistants". The Boston Daily Globe. December 27, 1926.
  6. "Bishop Convicts in First Two Cases". The Boston Daily Globe. January 6, 1927.
  7. "Prosecutor Argues in Defense of Pair". The Boston Daily Globe. January 26, 1927.
  8. "Bushnell Doubts Lowell Ever Asked Resignations". The Boston Daily Globe. April 26, 1927.
  9. "Harvard 'Riot' Cases End With Nolo Pleas". The Boston Daily Globe. April 27, 1927.
  10. "Foley, Bishop, and Cregg". The Boston Daily Globe. November 6, 1930.
  11. "McKnight Arrested at Miami Hospital". The Boston Daily Globe. December 6, 1931.
  12. "McKnight, Lovering Fines Due Today". The Boston Daily Globe. March 17, 1932.
  13. "McKnight Asks to Stay in Jail". The Boston Daily Globe. February 17, 1935.
  14. "20 State Police Raid Night Club". The Boston Daily Globe. August 26, 1933.
  15. "Bishop Leads Everett Raid". The Boston Daily Globe. August 27, 1933.
  16. "Slot Machine Nest Raided". The Boston Daily Globe. September 8, 1933.
  17. "Bishop Reelected by Wide Margin". The Boston Daily Globe. November 8, 1934.
  18. "C. Roosevelt Freed in Air Pistol Case". The New York Times. January 14, 1936.
  19. "Bishop to Form Own Bureau; Has Broken With State Police". The Boston Daily Globe. March 9, 1937.
  20. "Bishop is Candidate for Governor in 1936". The Boston Daily Globe. February 8, 1938.
  21. "Bishop Announces Campaign Platform". The Boston Daily Globe. April 7, 1936.
  22. "Bishop Dismisses Volpe, Charges "Disloyalty"". The Boston Daily Globe. April 18, 1936.
  23. Collins, Edwin F. (June 21, 1936). "Haigis-Saltonstall is G.O.P. ticket". The Boston Daily Globe.
  24. "Republican Group Opposing Bishop". The Boston Daily Globe. June 8, 1938.
  25. "Curley in Rallies Says Hurley Regime Marked by Confusion". The Boston Daily Globe. August 9, 1938.
  26. "Wolfson Quits Bishop's Staff". The Boston Daily Globe. October 21, 1938.
  27. "Bradford Victory Focuses Attention on Two Brothers". The Boston Daily Globe. November 10, 1938.
  28. "Bishop Comes Out for Democrats' Man". The Boston Daily Globe. October 19, 1938.
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