The Name's the Thing

What's in a name? For a politician --votes, that's what. The name Kennedy wins elections in Massachusetts; Taft does it in Ohio. In Illinois, Stevenson --coupled with Adlai, of course--is a good bet; and Brown breeds governors in California. But in Texas, the game of political names calls for a Yarborough, a cognomen that has meant liberal votes in the Lone Star State for a generation. Ralph Yarborough, 73, was in the Senate from 1957 to 1971. Another Yarborough, Donald H., 50, a Houston lawyer and no relation, ran unsuccessfully three times for Governor and almost beat John Connally in 1962.

Last May many Texas liberals went to the polls believing they had an opportunity to back another true-blue Yarborough in the Democratic primary contest for a state supreme court seat. They were wrong--in a Texas-size way. Houston Attorney Donald B. Yarbrough, 35, won because too many voters apparently failed to notice that he lacked two prerequisites: a second o in his surname and, more important, qualifications--liberal or otherwise. A born-again Baptist, Yarbrough attributes his victory to God's will. Says he: "I can't take credit for it. I lay it all before the feet of Jesus Christ." His opponent, San Antonio Civil Appeals Chief Judge Charles Barrow, has a more mundane explanation: "It's just that name. Why, even the wife of one of my county campaign managers voted for him, thinking he was one of the other Yarboroughs."

Barrow campaigned extensively on his record of 17 years on the bench and was a 10-to-l favorite in a poll of Texas Bar Association members. Yarbrough spent $350 on his campaign, made one speech and beat Barrow with 60% of the vote. Since he is unopposed in the November general election, Yarbrough confidently plans to take his seat on the state supreme court next January.

False Promises. Perhaps not. The Texas bar has recently been learning a lot about Yarbrough's legal abilities --and his courtroom experience as a defendant. While running in the primary, Yarbrough had 13 civil suits against him pending in state and federal courts. Last June, just after his nomination, a Houston jury returned a verdict against him in a suit charging him with malpractice and false promises. Says former Watergate Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski, now back practicing law in Houston: "From all I can ascertain, he does not have the qualifications to sit on the supreme court." The grievance committee of the Texas bar is now considering recommending formal disbarment proceedings against Yarbrough. Says Committee Head John Teed: "We will leave no stone unturned."

Even if Yarbrough is disbarred, can he be kept off the bench? The state constitution requires only that a supreme court justice be 35 years old and have been a lawyer for ten years; it is mum on whether a justice must be an attorney when he takes his seat. Only the Texas supreme court itself can sort the matter out. Some Texas lawyers are hoping that the question will never arise. Efforts are under way to find a write-in candidate who can beat Yarbrough in the November election. It will be a long shot. A write-in has never been elected to statewide office in Texas. So some attorneys are hedging their bets by playing the name game. Their prime candidate to beat Yarbrough is a Denton County district judge with the most revered Texas moniker of them all: Sam Houston.

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