John Hicklin Hall

John Hicklin Hall (July 17, 1854 - July 27, 1937) was an American politician, and father of Oregon governor John H. Hall.

Early career

Hall was born in Multnomah County, Oregon. He served as a member of the Oregon House of Representatives between 1891 and 1892.

District attorney and Oregon land fraud

In 1897, Hall was appointed U.S. District Attorney for Oregon. In 1903, U.S. Attorney General Philander Knox appointed Francis J. Heney to assist Hall in investigating allegations of land fraud in Oregon in a series of trials that became known as the Oregon Land Fraud Scandal.cite book|title=Historical Encyclopedia of U.S. Independent Counsel Investigations|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=qOgCthdaJqIC&pg|last=Greenberg|first=Gerald S.|pages=pp. 164-166|year=2000|publisher=Greenwood Press] Hall was uncooperative in the investigation, and was removed from office by President Theodore Roosevelt on January 1 1905. In 1907, Heney put Hall on trial for failing to prosecute land companies engaging in fraudulent activities, and for using his knowledge of illegal activities to blackmail his political opponents. On February 8 1908, a jury found Hall guilty of the charges.

Legacy

He was later pardoned by President William Howard Taft.cite web|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/special/pardon.html|publisher=The Political Graveyard|title=List of Politicians Who Were Pardoned|accessdate=2007-06-27] He died in Portland, Oregon and was interred at River View Cemetery in Portland.

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