IN MEMORIAM: John Hill (1923-2007)

Former Texas Attorney General and Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court John Hill, Jr. died yesterday morning at a Houston hospital. He was 83.

One of Hill’s most important accomplishments was in the area of consumer protection. While he was Attorney General, he led the charge to get the reluctant Texas Legislature to pass the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, one of the best consumer protection laws on the books in the state today.

When Hill left the Texas Supreme Court in 1988 to campaign for judicial election reform, he offered a very good quote which bears repeating:

As he left office at age 64, Hill said he would never again seek political office but he would remain active in public service.

“I don’t think of it in terms of a swan song,” Hill said. “I will always, as long as God gives me breath, be interested in this state and the public policy of this state.”

Indeed, Hill did serve again, when called upon to serve on the trouble-plagued Texas Lottery Commission in 1997.

Capitol Annex extends our deepest sympathies to the Hill family.

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