A Tennessee native , Marston graduated with a B.A. from Maryville College and in 1967 with a J.D. from Harvard Law School in Cambridge , Massachusetts . He then spent two years in the United States Navy . In 1969 , he joined a Philadelphia law firm , Montgomery , McCracken , Walker & Rhoads . In 1973 , however , he entered the political world to become an aide to Republican U.S. Senator Richard S. Schweiker of Pennsylvania , who was later tapped by Ronald W. Reagan as Reagan 's choice for vice president were Reagan to have wrestled the presidential nomination from Gerald Ford in 1976 . Marston was appointed by President Gerald Ford to serve as United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania , serving until his dismissal by Jimmy Carter in 1978 . A reportedly " stunned " Marston questioned why Carter removed him because Marston had successfully prosecuted Pennsylvania State Senator Henry Cianfrani on racketeering charges . Carter first said that he was unaware of Marston until the case became " highly publicized " . Later , Carter told reporters that he did know that Marston was a last-minute Ford appointee , was not " a practicing attorney , had never had any prosecuting experience , and . . . had a very heavy commitment to calling press conferences . " The '' Philadelphia Inquirer '' found that then U.S. Attorney General Griffin B. Bell had established a selection panel of five lawyers to obtain a replacement for Marston . The action came after the administration told Democratic U.S. Representative Joshua Eilberg of Pennsylvania that Marston would be removed . Eilberg was himself under a Justice Department probe . In a 2007 interview with John Gizzi of the conservative publication '' Human Events '' , Marston recalled that President Carter had vowed if elected to " appoint and retain attorneys solely on merit , " a reform commitment in the post-Watergate climate which was even written into the platform of the 1976 Democratic National Convention
1976 Democratic National Convention
1976 Democratic National Convention
David W. Marston