john a. dixon, jr. COLLECTION
(Mss
216)
Inventory
Earl K.
Long Library
University of New Orleans
Contents
Summary
Biographical
Note
Container
List
Index
Terms
Procedures
for Requesting Special Collections Materials
Summary
Size: approx.
100 linear feet
Geographic
locations: Primarily New Orleans, La.
Inclusive dates:
Summary: Personal
and legal records of John A. Dixon, Jr., Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of
Louisiana. Includes personal and legal
records, and three indices for 1) Dissents/Consents, 2) Opinions: Civil cases, and
3) Opinions: Criminal cases.
Related
collections: Supreme Court of
Louisiana Historical Archives (Mss 106)
Source: Gift,
1990
Access: No restrictions
Copyright: Physical
rights are retained by the Earl K. Long Library, University of New Orleans.
Citation: John
A. Dixon, Jr. Collection, Earl K. Long
Library, University
of New Orleans
Biographical Note
John Allen Dixon, Jr. was born in Orange, Texas
in 1920 and moved to Louisiana
with his family, living in Haynesville, Grand Cane, and Shreveport.
He graduated from Fair
Park High
School and received his B.A. from Centenary College in 1940. From the fall of 1940 until early 1942 he
taught high school in Tallulah. In 1942
he enlisted in the army and served in the 505th Parachute Infantry
Regiment. For 21 months he was a
prisoner of war in Germany
and was discharged as a Staff Sergeant in October 1945.
Dixon received his law degree from Tulane University
Law School
in 1947. He engaged in the private
practice of law and served as Assistant District Attorney in Shreveport.
In 1957 he was elected District Judge, serving until his election to the
Second Circuit Court of Appeal in 1968.
He was elected to the Supreme Court without opposition and took his seat
as Associate Justice in 1971. He became
Chief Justice in 1980 and served until his retirement from the Supreme Court in
1990.
Among many honors he received, John
Dixon became an Eagle Scout and a Silver Beaver. In 1981 he was named the Outstanding Alumnus
of the Tulane School of Law and in 1992 was inducted into the Centenary Alumni
Hall of Fame. The American Civil
Liberties Union recognized him in 1991 with the Benjamin E. Smith award for a
lifetime of defending civil rights and civil liberties. He championed the cause of the little man,
and some people called him "liberal" because of this. He preferred,
however, to call himself a strict constructionist. He was an active member of the North Highlands Methodist Church
before moving to New Orleans,
and a member of the Queensborough Masonic Lodge for many years. Additionally he was active in the Shreveport
Bar Association, the Louisiana State Bar Association, the American Bar
Association, and the Conference of Chief Justices. Dixon
served as president of the Centenary College Alumni Association and was a
founding member of the board of directors of the Woolworth Foundation, which
supported retired Methodist ministers and their families.
Some of Dixon’s interests included photography,
running, handball, golf, and sailing. He
also enjoyed camping, fishing and woodworking.
In 1945 Dixon met and married Imogene Kathleen
Shipley. They became the parents of
three daughters, Stella Dixon Shepard of Glenwood, Arkansas; Diana Dixon Gingles of Shreveport;
and Jeannette Dixon of Houston. At the time of his death in 2003, Dixon was the grandfather
of Luke Shepard, Iris Shepard Fogelman, John Morehead, Lester Morehead III, and
Sam Morehead; and the great-grandfather of John William Shipley Fogelman and
Madeline Imogene Morehead.
One of Dixon’s successors, Chief Justice Pascal F.
Calogero, Jr., described him as “a great judge, and an even greater man. He was a man of few words but boundless
strength and courage, he was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He was dedicated to securing justice while
applying the law reasonably and fairly.
A life-long public servant, he served well the people of his district
and his state.”
Source: “Memorial Service for John Allen Dixon, Jr.
'40, Retired Chief Justice, Louisiana Supreme Court to be Held Saturday, March
1 in Brown Chapel, Centenary
College.” Centenary College of Louisiana
News (February 26, 2003); Pacal F. Calogero, Jr., “Message
from the Chief,” in Louisiana Supreme Court, Annual Report 2003 of the Judicial Council of the Supreme Court
(New Orleans: The Court, 2004), 3 (quotation).
Container List
The
collection has not been processed.
Index Terms
Dixon, John A., Jr.
Judges—Louisiana—New Orleans
Louisiana. Supreme
Court