Wednesday, September 14, 2022
The Death of Ken Starr
Yesterday, former Whitewater special prosecutor, Brett Kavanaugh-employer, US Solicitor General, Judge, and Baylor President Ken Starr died at age 76 from medical issues during surgery.
He was a complicated person, and I have complicated feelings about him, though I wish peace on his soul and his family at what must be a hard time. I knew him, personally, and had many interactions with him over the years, beginning not long after I came to Baylor in 2000. I was asked to moderate a panel at Pepperdine, and found out the panelists were Starr and OJ Simpson defense lawyer Johnny Cochran (though Cochran ended up getting sick and couldn't do it). It was interesting duty for new faculty, but a good conversation. After that, when he served as Dean at Pepperdine's law school, I saw him fairly regularly. I visited his home, and the photo above depicts him standing in front our house in Waco.
Later, when he became president of Baylor (just as I was leaving) I was publicly supportive of the hire. Wacoan Magazine asked me to interview him, and when I did so he came over to my office on a hot summer day and we talked for a few hours. One thing I was struck by in our conversation was that he was a person capable of being chastened, which is rare in those who have had power. I was optimistic that he would be good for the school, and in many ways he was. Ultimately, things turned into kind of a disaster as a sexual assault scandal blew up under his watch. I was surprised that in the end he didn't retain a role at the law school there.
I last spoke to him a few years ago when I called him up about a clemency case. It turned out we were both in DC at that moment. I think that he always found me a little bit puzzling, and I find him puzzling, as well. He had a remarkable intellect and a personal warmth that opened a lot of doors for him. I suppose, like me, sometimes he didn't know quite what to do when he got to the other side of those doors.
