Heartsill Ragon

Heartsill Ragon (March 20, 1885 – September 15, 1940) was a U.S. Representative from Arkansas.

Born in Dublin, Arkansas, Ragon attended the common schools, the Clarksville High School, the College of the Ozarks (now University of the Ozarks), Clarksville, Arkansas, and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He graduated from the law department of Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia. He was admitted to the bar in 1908 and commenced practice in Clarksville, Arkansas. He served as member of the State house of representatives 1911-1913. He served as district attorney 1916-1920. Secretary of the Democratic State convention in 1918. He served as chairman of the Democratic State convention in 1920. He served as delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1920.

Ragon was elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-eighth and to the five succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1923, until his resignation effective June 16, 1933, having been appointed judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas on May 12, 1933, in which capacity he served until his death in Fort Smith, Arkansas, September 15, 1940. He was interred in Forest Park Cemetery.

In 1939, Judge Ragon authored an opinion in United States v. Miller, 26 F. Supp. 1002, stating that a federal statute violated the Second Amendment. Ragon was in reality, in favor of the gun control law and was part of an elaborate plan to give the government a sure win when they appealed to the supreme court which they promptly did. Miller, who was a known bank robber, had just testified in court against his whole gang and would have to go into hiding as soon as he was released. Ragon knew that Miller would not pay for an attorney to argue the case at the supreme court and so the government would have a sure win because the other side would not show up. The plan worked perfectly. see:http://www.law.nyu.edu/sites/default/files/ECM_PRO_060964.pdf

His opinion was reversed by the United States Supreme Court in United States v. Miller.

References

• United States Congress. "Heartsill Ragon (id: R000009)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. 

External links

• Heartsill Ragon at Find a Grave

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website http://bioguide.congress.gov.

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arkansas
Territory Bates Conway Sevier At-large Yell Cross Yell Newton Johnson Hynes Breckinridge
1st district Greenwood Hindman Roots Hanks Hodges Gause Dunn Cate Featherstone Cate McCulloch Macon Caraway Driver Gathings Alexander Lincoln Berry Crawford 2nd district Warren Rust Warren Rust Hinds Elliott A. Rogers O. Snyder Slemons Jones Breckinridge Little Brundidge W. Oldfield P. Oldfield Miller Mills Tucker Bethune T. Robinson Thornton V. Snyder Griffin Hill 3rd district Boles Edwards Boles Wilshire Gunter Wilshire J. Cravens J. Rogers McRae Dinsmore Floyd Tillman Fuller Ellis Fulbright Trimble Hammerschmidt T. Hutchinson A. Hutchinson Boozman Womack 4th district Gunter Peel J. Rogers Terry Reid Little W. B. Cravens O. Wingo E. Wingo W. B. Cravens W. F. Cravens Tackett Harris Pryor Thornton Anthony Dickey Ross Cotton Westerman 5th district Peel Dinsmore Reid Jacoway Ragon Terry Hays Alford 6th district Neill Brundidge J. Robinson S. Taylor C. Taylor Sawyer Reed Glover McClellan W. Norrell C. Norrell 7th district Wallace Goodwin Parks Kitchens Harris