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JFK Assassination Figure. The longtime Dallas County District Attorney, he was the chief prosecutor in the trial of Jack Ruby, killer of President John F. Kennedy's alleged assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. While a student at the University of Texas, he campaigned for Lyndon Baines Johnson in his 1937 bid for the United States House of Representatives. After graduating from the Law School of the University of Texas in Austin, in 1939 he became special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and investigated espionage cases for four years on the East Coast and in South America. He served in the United States Navy during World War II and took part in the invasions of the Philippines and Okinawa while stationed on the aircraft carriers USS Enterprise and USS Hornet. In 1947 Wade joined the Dallas County District Attorney's Office and rose to chief felony prosecutor. In 1950 he was elected criminal District Attorney of Dallas County, a position he held for over 36 years, longer than any other large city district attorney in the country. He was known as the "Chief'' to over 900 assistant district attorneys during his term. In 1964 the role of chief prosecutor in the trial of Jack Ruby fell to him, and he later testified before the Warren Commission, the Congressional investigation into the Kennedy assassination. In 1970 he announced the appeal of a ruling that found that Texas' abortion law was unconstitutional, which led to the landmark 1973 United States Supreme Court ruling "Roe versus Wade".
JFK Assassination Figure. The longtime Dallas County District Attorney, he was the chief prosecutor in the trial of Jack Ruby, killer of President John F. Kennedy's alleged assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. While a student at the University of Texas, he campaigned for Lyndon Baines Johnson in his 1937 bid for the United States House of Representatives. After graduating from the Law School of the University of Texas in Austin, in 1939 he became special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and investigated espionage cases for four years on the East Coast and in South America. He served in the United States Navy during World War II and took part in the invasions of the Philippines and Okinawa while stationed on the aircraft carriers USS Enterprise and USS Hornet. In 1947 Wade joined the Dallas County District Attorney's Office and rose to chief felony prosecutor. In 1950 he was elected criminal District Attorney of Dallas County, a position he held for over 36 years, longer than any other large city district attorney in the country. He was known as the "Chief'' to over 900 assistant district attorneys during his term. In 1964 the role of chief prosecutor in the trial of Jack Ruby fell to him, and he later testified before the Warren Commission, the Congressional investigation into the Kennedy assassination. In 1970 he announced the appeal of a ruling that found that Texas' abortion law was unconstitutional, which led to the landmark 1973 United States Supreme Court ruling "Roe versus Wade".
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