Walter Preston Battle

Walter Preston Battle (May 6, 1908 – March 31, 1969), known professionally as W. Preston Battle,^[a] was an American lawyer and criminal court judge in Shelby County, Tennessee. He served as an assistant district attorney general for more than a decade before spending 14 years in private practice as a criminal defense attorney. He later became a judge of the Criminal Court for what was then known as the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit.

Battle presided over the criminal proceedings in State of Tennessee v. James Earl Ray (1969), in which James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.; Battle sentenced Ray to 99 years in prison. Legal commentators note the unusually strict security and press restrictions Battle imposed during the proceedings to protect the court and prevent prejudicial publicity. Battle died in office 21 days after sentencing Ray.

Battle was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on May 6, 1908, to Walter Preston Battle Sr., a broker in the cottonseed industry, and Fannie Perkins.^[1] He had one younger brother, John Hampden Battle.^[2] He grew up in a family that identified with its Confederate heritage,^[3] with ancestors who had fought in the American Civil War.^[4]

He attended secondary school at Memphis University School and Woodberry Forest School.^[5] After graduating from high school, he enrolled at Washington and Lee University (1930), where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi and served as vice president of the college drama club.^[6] He later earned his law degree from the University of Memphis Law School ^[7] and was admitted to the bar in 1933.^[8]

Battle began his legal career as an assistant district attorney general in Shelby County in 1934.^[7] He first served under district attorney general W. T. McLain ^[9] until his death in July 1938. McLain was originally elected in 1934 for a term of eight years.^[10] A controversy over who would be the next district attorney general ensued, with the governor's appointment of candidate Joseph Hanover in dispute.^[11]

With the office empty, Battle was appointed as acting district attorney general (pro tempore) by Judge Phil Wallace to serve out the remainder of McLain's term until a special election could be held the next month.^[12] Marion Speed Boyd was subsequently elected and served as district attorney general from 1938 to 1940,^[13] followed by Will Gerber from 1940 to 1948.^[14]

During his 11-year tenure as assistant to the district attorney general, Battle worked on thousands of criminal cases, many involving homicide. "In those days", Battle told The Birmingham News , "Memphis was known as the murder capital of the world."^[8] Battle resigned from his position in 1945^[15] and entered private practice as a criminal lawyer for the next 14 years.^[16] He considered the Landon V. Butler case one of the most "exciting" of his career. He attempted to defend Butler from charges of warehouse fraud involving Alabama Grain Elevator Company,^[16] but he was eventually convicted and sentenced to three years in prison.^[8]

In 1952, Battle was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States.^[17] He later ran in a Shelby County bar association primary for Circuit Court judge, winning in 1959.^[8] The governor appointed him judge of Division 3 of the Criminal Court of Shelby County,^[7] then organized as the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. He served on the court for the next decade.^[18]

As a judge, Battle presided over several notable cases, including the murder trial of grocery store owner Louis F. Montesi.^[19] In another case, he dismissed the indictment against a movie theatre manager charged under the state's obscenity law for planning to screen I Spit on Your Grave (1959), a film containing interracial sex scenes, ruling that the law was unconstitutional. Although the decision drew public criticism, Battle stood by his ruling.^[7] He unsuccessfully pursued an appointment to the Tennessee Supreme Court in 1965.^[20] Battle was re-elected to an eight-year term as judge of the Criminal Court in 1966.^[5]

After a week-long vacation, Battle returned to work on Monday, March 31.^[22] He was last seen before 1 p.m. Battle is believed to have died while writing at his desk that afternoon. He was found slumped over his desk in his chambers at approximately 5:25 p.m.^[5] His body was later determined to have been in that state for approximately two hours prior to being found.^[22] An assistant district attorney and prosecutor in the case against Ray made the discovery after trying and failing to contact the judge. After noticing a light on in Battle's office after working hours, he decided to investigate, eventually finding Battle's body.^[36] Authorities at the scene said there was no evidence of foul play.^[37]

Battle was transported to Methodist Hospital where he was declared dead at 6:02 p.m.^[5] At the time of his death, Battle was 60 years old, just over a month away from his 61st birthday. He had been previously treated for a mild case of diabetes and for neck problems. An autopsy was performed that night by Jerry T. Francisco, the same medical examiner who had originally conducted the postmortem on Martin Luther King Jr.^[5] He reported that Battle showed signs of coronary insufficiency, possibly exacerbated by the emotional strain of the case. Battle had no known history of heart problems.^[38] A service took place at Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal Church the next day, with a burial at Elmwood Cemetery.^[5]

After Battle's untimely death, both of Ray's letters were entered into the court.^[39] Battle was succeeded by Arthur C. Faquin, who rejected Ray's request for a new trial, as did the Tennessee Supreme Court in 1970. The court claimed that Ray had "voluntarily waived his right to appeal".^[40] Ray's attorney later argued, however, citing an obscure Tennessee law, that a defendant may be entitled to a new trial if a judge dies while a motion affecting the case is still under consideration.^[40]

Battle married Florence Warfield Boyce and helped raise four children.^[7] Early in his career, he was friends with the son of influential politician E. H. Crump. Battle was involved in a car accident on August 9, 1940, and was arrested and fined for drunk driving. As a young, 30 year-old prosecutor at the time, the incident received attention in Tennessee newspapers^[d] and was distributed by the Associated Press.^[41] He sought treatment for his alcoholism and became active with Alcoholics Anonymous ^[3] and was open about his road to recovery.^[42] He was appointed by Governor Frank G. Clement to the State Alcoholism Commission in 1955.^[43]

In his book A Search for Justice (1971), journalist John Seigenthaler, formerly writer and editor of The Tennessean and assistant to attorney general Robert F. Kennedy, provides a comprehensive, yet critical analysis of Battle's legacy in relation to the criminal proceedings in the Ray case and the impact of Battle's legal career that may have played an influential role in the outcome.^[44]

Battle, Seigenthaler argues, "was admired as a man who had saved himself" from alcoholism "and had become a good citizen and a good judge,"^[45] but he believed that Battle was fearful of being reversed by a higher court.^[46] Just several years earlier, the Tennessee Supreme Court overruled two of Battle's decisions in separate convictions in the Montesi murder case.^[46]

Seigenthaler describes Battle as "A graying man with heavy jowls...industrious, careful, even studious when it was necessary to research precedents. He enjoyed reading the Greek Classics. Some lawyers called him 'old unflappable.' But he had a tendency to be an absolutist: to make up his mind that he was right on a narrow legal question and then proceed, looking neither left nor right."^[47]

• Nebraska Press Association v. Stuart