Ralph Denton Legal Papers (MS-00440)

Ralph Lloyd Denton was a famed civil rights attorney in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was born in Caliente, Nevada in 1925 to a political family that had been involved in Democratic and populist campaigns since William Jennings Bryan's first presidential run in 1896. While in high school, Denton won a summer job as an elevator operator in the United States Senate building in Washington, D.C. In 1943, he graduated high school and enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps, where he served in World War II. After the war, Denton attended the Washington College of Law where he graduated in 1951 with a juris doctorate degree. While in law school, Denton got to know Democratic Senator for Nevada Pat McCarran, who helped him get a clerking position in Nevada with U.S. District Judge Roger T. Foley.

Upon his return to Las Vegas in 1955, Denton became more involved in Democratic politics. In 1958 he was elected as District Attorney of Esmeralda County, Nevada. He was heavily involved in John F. Kennedy's 1960 presidential campaign, helping him to carry the state in the close contest against Vice President Richard Nixon. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Denton was a passionate defender of the Civil Rights movement, and offered his legal services to help desegregate hotels and casinos on the Las Vegas Strip. He was known for his support of liberal causes, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Peace Movement during the Vietnam War. His progressive activism earned him the nickname of "the liberal conscience of Nevada." In 2008, Denton retired from practicing law and moved to Boulder City, Nevada. Although retired, he continued to offer legal advice to residents of Southern Nevada. He passed away at his home in Boulder City in 2012. The Ralph Denton Professorship was established at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Boyd School of Law in his honor.