John McClure (judge)

For other people with the same name, see John McClure (disambiguation).

John McClure (died 1915),^[1] nicknamed Poker Jack,^[2] was a politician and judge in Arkansas during Reconstruction. He was originally a lawyer from Ohio.^[3]

John McClure
Associate Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court
In office 1868–1871
Personal details
Born	Missing Ohio
Died	1915
Political party	Republican
Residence(s)	(1) Arkansas County (2) Little Rock, Arkansas
Occupation	Lawyer United States Army lieutenant colonel

Biography

McClure was part of Powell Clayton's inner circle. A Republican "carpetbagger", he arrived in the capital city of Little Rock as the Lieutenant Colonel of an African-American regiment in the United States Army. Dismissed from the Army for playing cards, he gained the nickname, "Poker Jack," from the Democrats.

Freedmens Bureau

After the American Civil War ended, he became an agent of the Freedmens Bureau for Arkansas County in eastern Arkansas.

Arkansas Supreme Court

In 1868, he was appointed to the Arkansas Supreme Court and served until 1871. When Clayton was impeached in 1870, McClure issued an injunction preventing Clayton's lieutenant governor James M. Johnson from taking office. As a result of this action, McClure was also impeached and only narrowly avoided removal from office.^[1]