Hayden C. Covington

Hayden C. Covington

Hayden Cooper Covington (January 19, 1911 – November 21, 1978) was legal counsel for the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society during one of its most difficult periods in the mid-20th century. Hayden Covington has a record 37 victories in the United States Supreme Court, the most since the Judiciary Act of 1869 which fixed the Supreme Court of the United States to 9 Justices. He argued numerous cases before the United States Supreme Court on behalf of Jehovah’s Witnesses in defense of their religious freedoms, winning most of them. In 1967, he famously defended then world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali in his legal battle against the draft during the Vietnam War.