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{{Infobox officeholder
{{Infobox officeholder
| name=Joseph T. "Joe" Cawthorn
| name=Joseph T. "Joe" Cawthorn
| office=[[Louisiana]] State Senator for Caddo and DeSoto parishes
| office=[[Louisiana]] State Senator for<br> Caddo and DeSoto parishes
| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
| term_start=1940
| term_start=1940
| death_place=[[Lake Charles]], Louisiana
| death_place=[[Lake Charles]], Louisiana
| resting_place=Mt. Olivet Cemetery in DeSoto Parish, Louisiana
| resting_place=Mt. Olivet Cemetery in DeSoto Parish, Louisiana
| residence=Mansfield, DeSoto Parish
| residence=Mansfield, DeSoto Parish
| alma_mater=Oak Grove High Schoo<br>l (West Carroll Parish)<br>
| alma_mater=Oak Grove High Schoo<br>l (West Carroll Parish)<br>
[[Louisiana State University]] Law Center<br> ([[Baton Rouge]])
[[Louisiana State University]] Law Center<br> ([[Baton Rouge]])
| children=Melody Merle Cawthorn ___
| children=Melody Merle Cawthorn ___
}}
}}
'''Joseph T. Cawthorn''', known as '''Joe T. Cawthorn''' (October 1, 1911 – November 11, 1967),<ref name=cemetery>{{cite web|url=http://www.idreamof.com/cemetery/la/desoto/mt_olivet/part_2.htm|title=Mt. Olivet Cemetery|publisher=idreamof.com|accessdate=October 28, 2014}}</ref> was an [[attorney]], [[business]]man, and a [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] [[politician]] from Mansfield in DeSoto Parish in northwestern [[Louisiana]]. He was affiliated with the [[Earl Long|Long]] political faction of state politics.
'''Joseph T. Cawthorn''', known as '''Joe T. Cawthorn''' (October 1, 1911 – November 11, 1967),<ref name=cemetery>{{cite web|url=http://www.idreamof.com/cemetery/la/desoto/mt_olivet/part_2.htm|title=Mt. Olivet Cemetery|publisher=idreamof.com|accessdate=October 28, 2014}}</ref> was an [[attorney]], [[business]]man, and a [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] [[politician]] from Mansfield in DeSoto Parish in northwestern [[Louisiana]]. He was affiliated with the [[Earl Long|Long]] political faction of state politics
==Legal and political career==
Cawthorn was born in the unincorporated Selma near another [[rural]] community, Georgetown, in northeastern Grant Parish. He graduated from Oak Grove High School in Oak Grove in West Carroll Parish, Louisiana|Oak Grove]] in [[West Carroll Parish]] in northeastern Louisiana. In 1932, he received his law degree from the [[Louisiana State University]] Paul M. Hebert Law Center in [[Baton Rouge]].<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/la/sabine/obits/c/c3650001.txt|title=Joe T. Cawthorn|publisher=''Sabine Index''|location=Many, Louisiana|date=November 16, 1967|accessdate=October 28, 2014}}</ref>
Cawthorn was born in the unincorporated Selma near another [[rural]] community, Georgetown, in northeastern Grant Parish. He graduated from Oak Grove High School in Oak Grove in West Carroll Parish, Louisiana|Oak Grove]] in [[West Carroll Parish]] in northeastern Louisiana. In 1932, he received his law degree from the [[Louisiana State University]] Paul M. Hebert Law Center in [[Baton Rouge]].<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/la/sabine/obits/c/c3650001.txt|title=Joe T. Cawthorn|publisher=''Sabine Index''|location=Many, Louisiana|date=November 16, 1967|accessdate=October 28, 2014}}</ref>
In 1944, Cawthorn did not seek re-election to the state Senate but instead ran a strong though unsuccessful race for attorney general of Louisiana against fellow Democrat [[Fred S. LeBlanc]] of [[Baton Rouge]], who carried the backing of the successful gubernatorial nominee, [[Jimmie Davis]]. Known for his singing career too, Davis was elected that year to the first of his two non-consecutive gubernatorial terms. By then, Cawthorn was allied with [[Earl Long|Earl Kemp Long]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/12966755/|title=Louisiana election returns|publisher=''Miam (Oklahoma) Daily News''|date=March 1, 1944|page=3|accessdate=June 18, 2020}}</ref> the former and future governor who ran unsuccessfully in 1944 for lieutenant governor]], a post that Long had also held from 1936 to 1939 under then Governor Richard Webster Leche. Cawthorn and other Long-endorsed candidates had led in the first primary<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/11888020/|title=Return Of Long Faction in Louisiana|publisher=''Big Spring, Texas, Daily Herald''|date=January 19, 1944|page=7|accessdate=October 28, 2014}}</ref> but fell short in the runoff election as [[J. Emile Verret]] of Iberia Parish defeated Long for lieutenant governor.
In 1944, Cawthorn did not seek re-election to the state Senate but instead ran a strong though unsuccessful race for attorney general of Louisiana against fellow Democrat [[Fred S. LeBlanc]] of [[Baton Rouge]], who carried the backing of the successful gubernatorial nominee, [[Jimmie Davis]]. Known for his singing career too, Davis was elected that year to the first of his two non-consecutive gubernatorial terms. By then, Cawthorn was allied with [[Earl Long|Earl Kemp Long]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/12966755/|title=Louisiana election returns|publisher=''Miam (Oklahoma) Daily News''|date=March 1, 1944|page=3|accessdate=June 18, 2020}}</ref> the former and future governor who ran unsuccessfully in 1944 for lieutenant governor]], a post that Long had also held from 1936 to 1939 under then Governor Richard Webster Leche. Cawthorn and other Long-endorsed candidates had led in the first primary<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/11888020/|title=Return Of Long Faction in Louisiana|publisher=''Big Spring, Texas, Daily Herald''|date=January 19, 1944|page=7|accessdate=October 28, 2014}}</ref> but fell short in the runoff election as [[J. Emile Verret]] of Iberia Parish defeated Long for lieutenant governor.
In May 1946, Cawthorn was convicted in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana for his role as the attorney in an [[income tax]] evasion and jury tampering case against businessman William T. Burton, former Governor Noe, and Marcel F. La Branche, a juror. Cawthorn, Burton, and La Branche were found guilty and each sentenced to two years in prison and fined $10,000, but Noe was acquitted. The three lost their appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in [[New Orleans]]. As a result of his conviction, Cawthorn was disbarred.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://leagle.com/decision/195323267So2d165_1215.xml/LOUISIANA%20STATE%20BAR%20ASS'N%20v.%20CAWTHORN|title=Louisiana State Bar Association v. Cawthorn|publisher=leagle.com|date=July 3, 1953|accessdate=June 16, 2020}}</ref>
In May 1946, Cawthorn was convicted in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana for his role as the attorney in an [[income tax]] evasion and jury tampering case against businessman William T. Burton, former Governor Noe, and Marcel F. La Branche, a juror. Cawthorn, Burton, and La Branche were found guilty and each sentenced to two years in prison and fined $10,000, but Noe was acquitted. The three lost their appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in [[New Orleans]]. As a result of his conviction, Cawthorn was disbarred.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://leagle.com/decision/195323267So2d165_1215.xml/LOUISIANA%20STATE%20BAR%20ASS'N%20v.%20CAWTHORN|title=Louisiana State Bar Association v. Cawthorn|publisher=leagle.com|date=July 3, 1953|accessdate=June 16, 2020}}</ref>
In October 1964, Cawthorn was appointed to head the [[Lyndon Johnson|Johnson]]-[[Hubert Humphrey|Humphrey]] campaign for DeSoto Parish.<ref name=obit/> However, the parish voted 75.9 percent for the [[Republican Party|Republican]] [[Barry Goldwater|Goldwater]]-[[William E. Miller|Miller]] slate. Goldwater was only the second Republican since 1876 to carry the Louisiana [[electoral vote]].<ref>''[[Shreveport Journal]],'' November 4, 1964, p. 1.</ref> Cawthorn also sat on the steering committee of the Johnson campaign for Louisiana's 4th congressional district,<ref name=obit/> in which [[U.S. Representative]] [[Joe Waggonner]], a Democrat from Bossier Parish, was unopposed for his second full term in office.
In October 1964, Cawthorn was appointed to head the [[Lyndon Johnson|Johnson]]-[[Hubert Humphrey|Humphrey]] campaign for DeSoto Parish.<ref name=obit/> However, the parish voted 75.9 percent for the [[Republican Party|Republican]] [[Barry Goldwater|Goldwater]]-[[William E. Miller|Miller]] slate. Goldwater was only the second Republican since 1876 to carry the Louisiana [[electoral vote]].<ref>''[[Shreveport Journal]],'' November 4, 1964, p. 1.</ref> Cawthorn also sat on the steering committee of the Johnson campaign for Louisiana's 4th congressional district,<ref name=obit/> in which [[U.S. Representative]] [[Joe Waggonner]], a Democrat from Bossier Parish, was unopposed for his second full term in office.
In a suit heard in 1966 seeking to reclaim $160,000 to the estate of her late husband, [[Blanche Long]], the widow of former Governor Earl Long, indicated that on or about August 20, 1960, Cawthorn delivered $6,000 in cash in Marksville in Avoyelles Parish to Long. Some two weeks later, Long died after victory in a campaign against fellow Democrat Harold B. McSween for Louisiana's since disbanded 8th congressional district.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://leagle.com/decision/19661054186So2d868_1926.xml/LONG%20v.%20MATTHEWS|title=Long v. Matthews|date=1966|publisher=leagle.com|accessdate=June 16, 2020}}</ref>
In a suit heard in 1966 seeking to reclaim $160,000 to the estate of her late husband, [[Blanche Long]], the widow of former Governor Earl Long, indicated that on or about August 20, 1960, Cawthorn delivered $6,000 in cash in Marksville in Avoyelles Parish to Long. Some two weeks later, Long died after victory in a campaign against fellow Democrat Harold B. McSween for Louisiana's since disbanded 8th congressional district.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://leagle.com/decision/19661054186So2d868_1926.xml/LONG%20v.%20MATTHEWS|title=Long v. Matthews|date=1966|publisher=leagle.com|accessdate=June 16, 2020}}</ref>
Cawthorn was later reinstated to the practice of law. He owned the Melody Ranch at Mansfield and operated Mammoth Finance Company in [[Shreveport]]. He was also a [[petroleum]] investor.<ref name=obit/>
Cawthorn was later reinstated to the practice of law. He owned the Melody Ranch at Mansfield and operated Mammoth Finance Company in [[Shreveport]]. He was also a [[petroleum]] investor.<ref name=obit/>
Shortly before his death, Cawthorn was the defense attorney in Bossier Parish for the former rodeo star Jack Favor, who was falsely accused and convicted in 1967 of the murders in 1964 of Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Richey, operators of a bait stand near Haughton. After a seven-year period of incarceration at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in West Feliciana Parish, Favor was exonerated in a second trial in 1974. After Cawthorn's death, the co-counsel, James B. Wells of [[Bossier City]], who believed in Favor's innocence, continued to represent his client. The exoneration of Favor required a lawsuit against the then warden at Angola, C. Murray Henderson, Jr. (c. 1920-2004)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leagle.com/decision/1972771348FSupp423_1712|title=Jack G. FAVOR, P. M. B. 65386 v. C. Murray HENDERSON, Warden, Louisiana State Penitentiary|date=May 16, 1972|publisher=leagle.com|accessdate=June 16, 2020}}</ref> and a request before a federal judge to grant a second trial on the premise that the trial court judge, [[O. E. Price]], along with Bossier Parish Sheriff [[Willie Waggonner]], Waggonner's chief deputy and successor as sheriff, Vol Dooley, and District Attorney Louis Harvey Padgett, Jr. (1913-1980), had illegally conspired to rig the trial to convict Favor despite knowledge of his innocence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://truthinjustice.org/LA-list.htm|title=List of Louisiana Wrongful Convictions Overturned since 1966|date=November 23, 2003|publisher=''The Baton Rouge Advocate''|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref>
Shortly before his death, Cawthorn was the defense attorney in Bossier Parish for the former rodeo star Jack Favor, who was falsely accused and convicted in 1967 of the murders in 1964 of Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Richey, operators of a bait stand near Haughton. After a seven-year period of incarceration at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in West Feliciana Parish, Favor was exonerated in a second trial in 1974. After Cawthorn's death, the co-counsel, James B. Wells of [[Bossier City]], who believed in Favor's innocence, continued to represent his client. The exoneration of Favor required a lawsuit against the then warden at Angola, C. Murray Henderson, Jr. (c. 1920-2004)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leagle.com/decision/1972771348FSupp423_1712|title=Jack G. FAVOR, P. M. B. 65386 v. C. Murray HENDERSON, Warden, Louisiana State Penitentiary|date=May 16, 1972|publisher=leagle.com|accessdate=June 16, 2020}}</ref> and a request before a federal judge to grant a second trial on the premise that the trial court judge, [[O. E. Price]], along with Bossier Parish Sheriff [[Willie Waggonner]], Waggonner's chief deputy and successor as sheriff, Vol Dooley, and District Attorney Louis Harvey Padgett, Jr. (1913-1980), had illegally conspired to rig the trial to convict Favor despite knowledge of his innocence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://truthinjustice.org/LA-list.htm|title=List of Louisiana Wrongful Convictions Overturned since 1966|date=November 23, 2003|publisher=''The Baton Rouge Advocate''|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref>
Cawthorn died on [[Veterans Day]] 1967 of a sudden illness in Memorial Hospital in [[Lake Charles]], where he was stricken while on business. A week before his passing, Cawthorn had been defeated in a Democratic primary for a seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives for DeSoto, Sabine, and Red River]] parishes in a two-member district by incumbent [[Joe Henry Cooper]] of Mansfield and subsequent Judge John S. Pickett, Jr., of Many in Sabine Parish.<ref name=obit/> Though defeated for the legislature, he had won in the same election a seat on the [[Louisiana Democratic Party|Democratic Executive Committee]] for the 38th representative district.<ref name=obit/>
Cawthorn died on [[Veterans Day]] 1967 of a sudden illness in Memorial Hospital in [[Lake Charles]], where he was stricken while on business. A week before his passing, Cawthorn had been defeated in a Democratic primary for a seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives for DeSoto, Sabine, and Red River]] parishes in a two-member district by incumbent [[Joe Henry Cooper]] of Mansfield and subsequent Judge John S. Pickett, Jr., of Many in Sabine Parish.<ref name=obit/> Though defeated for the legislature, he had won in the same election a seat on the [[Louisiana Democratic Party|Democratic Executive Committee]] for the 38th representative district.<ref name=obit/>