James Alexander Fowler

Justice Department

Fowler was appointed U.S. Assistant Attorney General by President Theodore Roosevelt in June 1908, While the Taft Administration came to an end in March 1913 after his defeat in the presidential election of the previous year, Fowler was retained as a special assistant by Woodrow Wilson's first attorney general, James C. McReynolds. In this role, he argued several cases before the Supreme Court. In 1913, he prepared the brief and delivered the argument for United States v. Chandler-Dunbar Water Power Company, a case involving water rights and compensation for property seized by the government.

In 1921, Fowler was appointed special assistant to the attorney general by Attorney General Harry M. Daugherty. Daugherty initially tasked Fowler with handling the federal government's cases arising from New York's Lockwood investigations, which involved acts of extortion committed by the leaders of building materials unions. He later handled several Supreme Court cases, including Federal Trade Commission v. American Tobacco Co. (1924), United States v. Ninety-Five Barrels Alleged Apple Cider Vinegar, and United States v. General Electric Co. (1926).

Later life

Fowler was elected to Knoxville's city council in 1927, and chosen as mayor by his fellow councilmen.