Hayden C. Covington

Jehovah's Witnesses

Hayden C. Covington (January 19, 1911 – November 19, 1978) was legal counsel for the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society during one of its most difficult periods in the mid-20th century. Hayden Covington has a record 37 victories in the United States Supreme. He argued numerous cases before the United States Supreme Court on behalf of Jehovah’s Witnesses in defense of their religious freedoms, winning most of them, and thus indirectly, advancing the cause of civil liberties on behalf of all American citizens. In 1967, he famously defended then world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali in his legal battle against the draft during the Viet Nam War.

Covington was born in East Texas, and raised on a farm near Dallas. His father was a Texas Ranger. An able student, he worked his way through law school in San Antonio, successfully passing the Texas bar exam, with an impressively high score, one year before graduation. He was admitted to the Bar in 1933.

He was attracted to the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses and impressed by the dedication and character of the members, defending several of them in Texas courts prior to formally joining the group himself. His first exposure to their teachings was through listening to the broadcast sermons of Watch Tower Society President Joseph F. Rutherford on radio station KTSA in San Antonio.

Word of his successes in defending the Witnesses reached the New York headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses, and he was asked by President Rutherford to join him in representing the Society on a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. He was then invited to join headquarters staff as general counsel in 1939, succeeding Olin R. Moyle, who had been ousted that year in a dispute with Rutherford. Upon Rutherford’s death in 1942, Covington was elected Vice President and a director of the Watch Tower Society, succeeding the newly elected President, Nathan H. Knorr.

A subsequent policy change resulted in Covington's resignation from the Vice Presidency and departure from the board in 1945, although remaining on staff as legal counsel. Throughout most of its history, appointment to the board of directors of the Watch Tower Society, and thus to the "Governing Body" of Jehovah's Witnesses, has been limited to those professing to be of the "anointed class" within the group; the "spirit begotten" sons of God who would "rule as Kings" in heaven with Christ. To date, the one exception was Hayden C. Covington.

What undoubtedly brought him to the attention of Muhammad Ali was his extensive experience with the U.S. Selective Service System and draft boards across the nation, where he realized many successes. Speaking of the Selective Service, and conscription during the second world war he said: "A small proportion of the draft boards during World War II were extremely fair. The National Headquarters of the Selective Service System, acting through [Lewis Blaine Hershey|General [Lewis Blaine] Hershey] , was also fair. Arrangements were made between him and me for the exemption of our full-time ministers and members of the Bethel [Headquarters] Family. He wrote an opinion for guidance of boards on this policy. Some draft boards obeyed this but others did not."

Covington was eventually excommunicated or "disfellowshipped" for a time, but was subsequently "reinstated", or re-admitted to the group, remaining until his death.

Quote

Justice Harlan Fiske Stone, 12th Chief Justice of the United States (July 3, 1941 – April 22, 1946) wrote: "The Jehovah's Witnesses ought to have an endowment in view of the aid which they give in solving the legal problems of civil liberties."

References

*"Faith On The March", A.H. Macmillan, Prentice-Hall, inc., 1957

External links

* [http://www.courier-journal.com/cjsports/ali_archive/moments_full1967_2.html "Moments In Time: Muhammed Ali", The Courier-Journal, 2004.]