Famed civil rights attorney Alton H. Maddox Jr. and his wife Leola W. Maddox had a son. However, personal and professional details about their son are not available.
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Maddox and Leola were married for many years until her death in 2017. Maddox did not remarry after his wife’s death.
Born in Inkster, Michigan, and raised in Newnan, Georgia, Maddox began practicing law in 1976, after graduating from Howard University (BA, 1967) and Boston College Law School (JD, 1971).
Maddox had a lengthy legal career that included fighting for the Black community in New York City.
Some of his most notable cases included:
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- Representing Al Sharpton when Sharpton faced a 67-count indictment alleging fraud and theft. Sharpton was acquitted of all charges.
- Representing Michael Briscoe, a young man who was arrested during the investigation into the alleged rape of the Central Park jogger. Briscoe was found innocent in that case.
- Representing the family of Michael Stewart, a Brooklyn man who died while in custody of the New York City Transit Police and though six officers were indicted for Stewart’s death, all the officers were not found guilty. Rudy Giuliani, then US Attorney in Manhattan, found insufficient evidence to warrant a federal grand jury investigation. However, a Metropolitan Transportation Authority report later faulted police for use of excessive force.
- Representing Tawana Brawley during the period of her rape allegations. Maddox, Al Sharpton, and C. Vernon Mason accused Assistant District Attorney Steven Pagones of abducting and raping Brawley. Pagones was not charged by the grand jury.
Maddox was a former Director of the National Conference of Black Lawyers Juvenile Defense Project and the founder of the Center for Law & Social Justice at Medgar Evers College and co-sponsored the 1983 Congressional hearings on Police Brutality in New York City.
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