Kenneth Winston Starr

Kenneth Winston Starr was a federal appellate judge, attorney, and legal official who served on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1983 to 1989. Born on July 21, 1946, and passing away on September 13, 2022, Starr held several prominent positions in American law and government, including service as United States Solicitor General under President George H. W. Bush and later as independent counsel investigating matters related to the Clinton administration. His career spanned private practice, the federal judiciary, high-level government service, and academic leadership, making him a significant figure in late twentieth-century American legal and political history.

Early life and legal career

Starr was born near Vernon, Texas, to Vannie Maude Trimble and Willie D. Starr, and spent his formative years in Centerville, Texas. His father served as a minister in the Churches of Christ while also working as a barber to support the family. The younger Starr attended Sam Houston High School in San Antonio, where he distinguished himself as an academically excellent and well-liked student, earning straight A grades and being voted by his peers as most likely to succeed.

His undergraduate education began at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, an institution affiliated with the Churches of Christ. During his time there, Starr was an honor student who became involved in political activities, joining the Young Democrats and vocally supporting those who protested the Vietnam War. He later transferred to George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where he completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 1968. While at George Washington, he became a member of the Delta Phi Epsilon fraternity.

Starr did not serve in the military during the Vietnam War, having been classified 4-F due to psoriasis. During this period, he worked in the Southwestern Advantage entrepreneurial program. He continued his education at Brown University, earning a Master of Arts degree in 1969. He then enrolled at Duke University School of Law, where he served as an editor of the Duke Law Journal and graduated with a Juris Doctor in 1973.

Following law school, Starr began his legal career with a clerkship for Judge David W. Dyer of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, serving from 1973 to 1974. He then secured a prestigious clerkship with Chief Justice Warren E. Burger of the United States Supreme Court, where he worked from 1975 to 1977. These clerkships provided him with experience at both the circuit and Supreme Court levels early in his career.

In 1977, Starr joined the Washington, D.C., office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, a law firm based in Los Angeles. He practiced there until 1981, when he was appointed to serve as counselor to United States Attorney General William French Smith. Starr was also a member of the Federalist Society, an organization of conservative and libertarian legal professionals.

In 1970, Starr married Alice Mendell, who had been raised in the Jewish faith but converted to Christianity. The couple had three children together.

Federal appellate service

President Ronald Reagan, a Republican, nominated Starr to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on September 13, 1983. The nomination was to fill a seat that had been vacated by Judge George MacKinnon. The United States Senate confirmed Starr on September 20, 1983, and he received his commission the same day. At the time of his appointment, Starr was in his late thirties, making him a relatively young appointee to what is often considered the second most important federal court in the nation due to its jurisdiction over many cases involving federal agencies and government action.

The D.C. Circuit has historically been a significant stepping stone to the Supreme Court and other high-level legal positions, and Starr's tenure there would indeed precede further advancement in his career. He served on the court for approximately six years, resigning on May 26, 1989. During his time on the bench, he participated in the court's work reviewing administrative agency decisions and hearing appeals in cases involving federal law, though specific opinions or cases from his tenure are not detailed in the available record.

Following his resignation from the circuit court, Starr was appointed United States Solicitor General by President George H. W. Bush, also a Republican, serving in that capacity from 1989 to 1993. As Solicitor General, Starr represented the federal government before the Supreme Court, determining which cases the government would appeal and presenting oral arguments in significant matters. This position is traditionally considered one of the most prestigious in the American legal profession.

In 1990, Starr emerged as the leading candidate for nomination to the United States Supreme Court following Justice William Brennan's retirement. However, he faced opposition from leadership within the Department of Justice, who expressed concern that Starr might not prove to be reliably conservative as a Supreme Court justice. President Bush ultimately nominated David Souter instead. Starr also contemplated a run for the United States Senate from Virginia in 1994 against incumbent Chuck Robb, but decided against seeking the Republican nomination, which would have required competing against Oliver North.

Jurisprudence and legacy

After his service as Solicitor General concluded in 1993, Starr returned to private practice but soon became involved in high-profile governmental investigations. When the United States Senate Select Committee on Ethics required someone to review the diaries of Republican Senator Bob Packwood, the committee selected Starr for this sensitive task, reflecting confidence in his discretion and judgment.

In August 1994, a three-judge panel known as the Special Division of the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit appointed Starr as independent counsel to continue an investigation that had been initiated earlier. The panel consisted of Judges David B. Sentelle, John D. Butzner Jr., and Joseph T. Sneed III. Starr replaced Robert B. Fiske, who had been serving in the role. The investigation, which became known as the Whitewater controversy, initially focused on real estate investments and the death of deputy White House counsel Vince Foster during the presidency of Bill Clinton, a Democrat.

Over time, the scope of Starr's investigation expanded to encompass additional matters. After more than four years of investigative work, Starr produced what became known as the Starr Report, a document that alleged President Clinton had provided false testimony under oath regarding a personal relationship with a White House intern. These allegations became the basis for the impeachment of President Clinton by the House of Representatives, though Clinton was subsequently acquitted by the Senate. The investigation also resulted in a five-year suspension of Clinton's law license in Arkansas.

Starr's work as independent counsel brought him significant public attention and made him a controversial figure, with supporters viewing him as a thorough investigator upholding the rule of law and critics characterizing the investigation as politically motivated. Regardless of perspective, his role in these events made him one of the most publicly recognized legal figures of the 1990s.

Following the conclusion of his work as independent counsel, Starr moved into academic leadership. He served as dean of Pepperdine University School of Law and later became both president and chancellor of Baylor University in Waco, Texas, beginning in June 2010. He simultaneously held the Louise L. Morrison chair of constitutional law at Baylor Law School. However, his tenure at Baylor ended amid controversy in 2016 following an investigation into the university's handling of sexual assault allegations. The board of regents announced on May 26, 2016, that Starr's service as president would conclude on May 31. Though initially continuing as chancellor, he resigned from that position on June 1, 2016. In August 2016, Starr announced he would also resign his tenured professorship, completely severing his relationship with Baylor in what was described as a mutually agreed separation.

In January 2020, Starr joined the legal team representing President Donald Trump, a Republican, during Trump's first impeachment trial before the Senate, returning him once more to the national spotlight in connection with presidential impeachment proceedings. Starr passed away on September 13, 2022, leaving behind a complex legacy as a jurist, government lawyer, investigator, and academic administrator whose career intersected with several of the most significant legal and political events of his era.