Alton H. Maddox, Jr.

Alton Henry Maddox, Jr. (born 1945) was an African-American lawyer who was involved in several publicized cases in the 1980s before his law license was indefinitely suspended in 1990 by the New York State Supreme Court.

Education

Maddox was born in Newnan, Georgia. He began practicing law in 1976, after graduating from Howard University and Boston College Law School.

Clients

Maddox represented several proven and alleged crime victims including the family of Michael Stewart, a Brooklyn man who died while in custody of the New York City Transit Police. Six officers were indicted for the death; all were found not guilty. Rudy Giuliani, then US Attorney in Manhattan, found insufficient evidence to warrant a federal grand jury investigation. A Metropolitan Transportation Authority report later faulted police for use of excessive force.

He was the attorney for Cedric Sandiford and the family of manslaughter victim Michael Griffith in the Howard Beach incident. Maddox and other lawyers demanded a special prosecutor be appointed to the case, and the request was eventually granted. Maddox accused the New York City Police Department and Commissioner Benjamin Ward of a cover-up.