Cecil F. Poole
Education and career
Education and career
--------------------

Poole received an [Artium Baccalaureus](/wiki/Bachelor_of_Arts "Bachelor of Arts") degree from the [University of Michigan](/wiki/University_of_Michigan "University of Michigan") in 1935\. He received a [Bachelor of Laws](/wiki/Bachelor_of_Laws "Bachelor of Laws") from the [University of Michigan Law School](/wiki/University_of_Michigan_Law_School "University of Michigan Law School") in 1938\. Poole then received a [Master of Laws](/wiki/Master_of_Laws "Master of Laws") from [Harvard Law School](/wiki/Harvard_Law_School "Harvard Law School") in 1939\. After graduation from law school and gaining admission to the Pennsylvania State Bar in 1940, Poole entered the private practice of law in Pittsburgh. He remained in private practice from 1940 to 1942 and then moved to Washington, D.C. to work for the [National Labor Relations Board](/wiki/National_Labor_Relations_Board "National Labor Relations Board"). By then, World War II had begun. Shortly after moving to the nation's capital Poole joined the military, serving in the [United States Army](/wiki/United_States_Army "United States Army"), first as an enlistee and then as a commissioned officer, from 1942 to 1945\.

After World War II Poole served as Chief of the Regional Appellate Division of the United States [Office of Price Administration](/wiki/Office_of_Price_Administration "Office of Price Administration") in [San Francisco](/wiki/San_Francisco "San Francisco"), [California](/wiki/California "California") from 1946 to 1947\. He then re\-entered the private practice of law in San Francisco in 1947 and continued in that work until 1951\. Poole then became an assistant district attorney and chief of the [San Francisco County Superior Court](/wiki/San_Francisco_County_Superior_Court "San Francisco County Superior Court") division staff of the district attorney's office, posts he held from 1951 to 1958, and also served as an Instructor for the [Golden Gate University School of Law](/wiki/Golden_Gate_University_School_of_Law "Golden Gate University School of Law") from 1952 to 1958\.

Poole was secretary and legal counsel to Governor [Pat Brown](/wiki/Pat_Brown "Pat Brown") from 1958 to 1961\. Among the tasks that he undertook in that role was to advise Brown about whether to grant a request by [Caryl Chessman](/wiki/Caryl_Chessman "Caryl Chessman") for executive clemency.

President John F. Kennedy nominated Poole to be the United States Attorney for the Northern District of California on April 18, 1961\. The U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination by unanimous consent on June 7, 1961\. Poole became the first African American [United States Attorney](/wiki/United_States_Attorney "United States Attorney") in the nation's history and served until he resigned on January 31, 1970\.

Poole's tenure as United States attorney overlapped with a period of protest against the [Vietnam War](/wiki/Vietnam_War "Vietnam War"), both nationwide and in the [Bay Area](/wiki/San_Francisco_Bay_Area "San Francisco Bay Area"). In 1968 Poole refused to file sedition charges against a group of protesters outside of a military base near Oakland, instead insisting that United States marshals release the group to local law enforcement. This decision drew the ire of [California](/wiki/California "California") Senator George Murphy, who would later block Poole's confirmation to a federal judgeship in response.

Poole also refused to allow federal law enforcement officers to arrest members of the [Black Panther Party](/wiki/Black_Panther_Party "Black Panther Party") who were peacefully protesting in downtown San Francisco and declined to prosecute cases of draft evasion unless the administrative record supported, in his view, a strong chance for conviction.

After leaving the United States attorney's office Poole returned to the private practice of law in San Francisco from 1970 to 1976, working for the law firm [Jacobs, Sills \& Coblentz](https://www.coblentzlaw.com/about/history/). Among the clients Poole represented during that time were rock bands [Jefferson Airplane](/wiki/Jefferson_Airplane "Jefferson Airplane") and [The Doobie Brothers](/wiki/The_Doobie_Brothers "The Doobie Brothers"), as well as singer [Janis Joplin](/wiki/Janis_Joplin "Janis Joplin") and concert promoter [Bill Graham](/wiki/Bill_Graham_%28promoter%29 "Bill Graham (promoter)").

Poole was Regents Professor of Law at the [University of California, Berkeley](/wiki/University_of_California%2C_Berkeley "University of California, Berkeley") from 1969 to 1970\. He was also a fellow in residence at [Yale Law School](/wiki/Yale_Law_School "Yale Law School") in 1970\.


When did World War II begin and how did it affect William Poole's career?