William Harold Cox

William Harold Cox (June 23, 1901 – February 25, 1988) was an American attorney and jurist who served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. He was known for presiding over United States v. Price (1965) and for his resistance to racial integration. Constance Baker Motley, a longtime civil rights attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the first Black woman to serve as a federal judge, called Cox "the most openly racist judge ever to sit on a federal court bench" in the United States. Early life and education Born in Indianola, Mississippi, Cox received a Bachelor of Science degree from University of Mississippi and a Bachelor of Laws from University of Mississippi School of Law in 1924. While in college, he was roommates with future Senator James Eastland. Career Cox was in private practice of law in Jackson, Mississippi from 1924 to 1961.