David J. Cannon

David J. Cannon (August 6, 1933 – July 26, 2011) was an American attorney who served as Milwaukee County District Attorney from 1968 to 1969 and as United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin from 1969 to 1973. Cannon was the last Republican to serve as Milwaukee County District Attorney.

David J. Cannon
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
In office
July 11, 1969 – November 16, 1973
Preceded byJames B. Brennan
Succeeded byDavid B. Bukey (acting)
Milwaukee County District Attorney
In office
April 29, 1968 – January 1, 1969
Preceded byHugh R. O'Connell
Succeeded byE. Michael McCann
Personal details
Born(1933-08-06)August 6, 1933
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
DiedJuly 26, 2011(2011-07-26) (aged 77)
Elm Grove, Wisconsin
Political partyDemocratic

Early life and career

Cannon was born in Milwaukee and attended Marquette University High School.[1] He graduated from Marquette University in 1955 before serving in the United States Army's security agency.[1] In 1960, Cannon received his law degree from Marquette University Law School and entered private practice.[1] He gained notoriety for successfully challenging the authority of Wisconsin district attorneys, and Milwaukee County's corporation counsel, to issue arrest warrants in child support cases.[1][2] In 1966, he was hired as a Milwaukee County prosecutor by District Attorney Hugh O'Connell.[3] When O'Connell was elected to the Milwaukee County Circuit Court in April 1968, Republican Governor Warren Knowles appointed Cannon to succeed him.[3]

Tenure in public office and later career

As district attorney, Cannon sought to modernize the office's technology and to redirect its resources against white-collar crime.[4] He prosecuted John Oraa Tucker, a Milwaukee man accused of fatally shooting a police officer during the city's 1967 civil unrest;[5] although Tucker was convicted of several related felonies, he was acquitted of homicide.[5] Additionally, Cannon faced an uphill[4] election battle in the fall of 1968, facing Democrat E. Michael McCann, a former assistant district attorney.[4] In the November general election, McCann defeated Cannon with a margin of approximately 12,000 votes.[6]

In 1969, President Richard Nixon nominated Cannon to serve as United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, replacing James B. Brennan.[7] Cannon's nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate in June 1969 and he took office in July.[8] While in office, Cannon pursued federal charges in connection to an incident of draft-card burning in 1968[9] and conducted a grand jury investigation into the activities of the Balistrieri underworld family.[10] Cannon resigned from office on November 16, 1973 and returned permanently to private practice.[11]

Cannon practiced law in Milwaukee with the firm Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, working to expand the firm's litigation section.[2] He also served as president of the Milwaukee Bar Association in the early 1980s[12] and chaired the board of Federal Defender Services of Wisconsin.[13] Cannon died of lung cancer on July 26, 2011.[2]

References
  1. Botsford, Joe (24 April 1968). "Quiet New DA Created Uproar". The Milwaukee Sentinel. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  2. Rabideau Silvers, Amy (2 August 2011). "Cannon served as Milwaukee County DA, U.S. attorney". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  3. "Cannon Put in DA Post by Knowles". The Milwaukee Journal. 24 April 1968. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  4. Lubenow, Thomas G. (1 November 1968). "GOP given chance in DA race". The Milwaukee Journal. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  5. Dobish, Alex P.; Lubenow, Thomas G. "Tucker Kept a Rendezvous With Terror". The Milwaukee Journal. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  6. Zahn, Michael O. (30 October 1970). "McCann, Doherty wage heated campaign for DA". The Milwaukee Journal. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  7. "Nixon Names Cannon to US Attorney Post". The Milwaukee Journal. 25 April 1969. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  8. "Former DA Sworn In as US Attorney". The Milwaukee Journal. 12 July 1969. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  9. "Uphold Cullen Conviction, Court Asked". The Milwaukee Sentinel. 9 June 1971. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  10. "Balistrieri testifies for 35 minutes". The Milwaukee Sentinel. 21 July 1971. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  11. "Acting US Attorney Appointed". The Milwaukee Journal. 17 November 1973. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  12. "Bar association gets new president". The Milwaukee Journal. 11 June 1981. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  13. Rohde, Marie (12 December 2007). "Federal defender agency faces suit". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
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