Mike McKevitt

James Douglas "Mike" McKevitt was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as a United States [House of Representatives|U.S. representative] from Colorado from 1971 to 1973.

Early life and education

Born in Spokane, Washington, McKevitt graduated from Grant High School in Sacramento, California.
He received a B.A. from the University of Idaho in 1951, and a law degree from the University of Denver School of Law in 1956.

Military

He was in the United States Air Force from 1951 to 1953, rising to the rank of captain.

Career

He was a lawyer in private practice.
He served as assistant attorney general, Colorado state attorney general's office from 1958 to 1967.
He served as District Attorney, Denver, Colorado from 1967 to 1971, during which time McKevitt became known for prosecuting and harassing Denver's "hippies" and the restaurants where they would eat. On August 8, 1969, he seized a print of the 1967 Swedish film I Am Curious (Yellow) from the Vogue Art Theater in the city, therefore banning it on the basis of it being "obscene and pornographic". The ban lasted sixteen days, during which the film was returned to the theater. The ban was lifted on August 22, 1969, after a judge declared it to be a "prior restraint on the defendants' right to freedom of speech".

Congress

McKevitt was elected as a Republican to the 92nd [United States Congress|Ninety-second] Congress. That year, 20-year incumbent Democrat Byron Rogers had been defeated in the primary by a considerably more liberal Democrat, attorney Craig Barnes. Several of Rogers' more conservative supporters threw their support to McKevitt in the general election. The split in the party combined with McKevitt's popularity to allow McKevitt to win by 10,000 votes. However, McKevitt was a conservative Republican in a strongly Democratic district, and he was defeated for reelection to the Ninety-third Congress in 1972 by liberal Democrat Pat Schroeder.

Later career

McKevitt remained in Washington for some time after his brief congressional term, serving as Assistant United States Attorney General, Office of Legislation in 1973, a counsel on energy policy the White House from 1973 to 1974, and a member of the Korean War Memorial Commission from 1987 to 1995.

Death and burial

He died on September 28, 2000, in Washington, D.C. He was interred at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia.