Finis E. Cowan

Born on October 16, 1929, in Dallas, Texas, Cowan received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rice University in 1951 and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Texas School of Law in 1956, graduating Order of the Coif.[1] He was a United States Marine Corps Lieutenant during the Korean War, from 1951 to 1953. He was in private practice in Houston, Texas from 1956 to 1977.[2]

On May 19, 1977, Cowan was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to a seat on the Galveston Division of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas vacated by Judge James Latane Noel Jr.. Cowan was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 13, 1977, and received his commission on June 14, 1977. Cowan served in that capacity for just over two years, resigning on June 30, 1979, and returning to private practice in Houston.[2][1]

Immediately prior to resigning in June 1979, Cowan sentenced to probation former Houston policeman Danny Howard Mays, 28 who was found guilty of participating in planting a gun to make the shooting of a Louisiana teenager look like self-defense and of then lying to a federal grand jury. A cab driver who was at the scene and a fellow policeman who testified under a grant of immunity said Mays grabbled Webster as he tried to come out of the van with his hands up, threw him to the ground, and shot him in the head at close range. After several investigations, however, it was determined that the 17-year-old Webster was in fact unarmed and that Mays actually stepped up to the youth to pistol-whip him. Mays' gun discharged when it came down on Webster's head, killing the youth.

Defending the light sentences in a 17-page memorandum, Cowan suggested that "the shooting was an accident" and that the defendants were "thrust into an emergency that they did not create". He said their persisting in the cover-up was motivated "at least in part because of loyalty to comrades," which he said could not be "totally condemned."

And he repeatedly noted that the testimony of the government's chief witness, former officer John Thomas Olin, had been "purchased by grant of immunity."

Cowan said Olin's testimony and that of another former policeman with immunization, William Byrd, who said he supplied the throw-down gun, "must be viewed with great caution." He also said the testimony of the cab driver "was to some degree suspect."

In October 1980, Webster's family was awarded $1.4 million in a landmark civil trial. The Civil Court jury ruled that the City of Houston was responsible for the brutality of its police officers. Prior to this ruling and award, no other city had ever been held responsible for a case of police brutality. After the jury was dismissed, foreman Raymond Barone said jurors felt the city must be responsible for the actions of its employees.

Cowan has remained in the private practice of law since his resignation from the federal bench. He serves with the law firm of Yetter Coleman LLP and remains in active service as of April 2018.[1]

• Finis E. Cowan at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• The Washington Post, "Houston Ex-Policemen Receive Probation in Prisoner's Death", by Tom Curtis, May 16, 1979