When one reads the history of the state of Alabama, "courageous judicial decisions" appears to be an oxymoron because there have not been many such decisions. Most that did occur were related in some fashion to the racial problems that have existed in Alabama from the very beginning of statehood. It is important that we understand just what we mean when we speak of courage. Sustained courage emanates from character, which in itself takes a lifetime to build. Courage can be defined as the moral strength that permits one to face fear and difficulty. Courage requires a certain amount of leadership, and this leadership behavior is admirable and excellent. Making judicial decisions that changed ways of living in Alabama during the days of segregation required courage. These decisions could have severe consequences for one's safety and could affect one's family. Yet despite the potential consequences, there were at least four judges in Alabama who made decisions based on what they thought was the right thing to do and would lead Alabama in the right direction. The judges whose names come immediately to the forefront are George Stone, Thomas G. Jones, James E. Horton Jr., and Frank M. Johnson.

Courageous Judicial Decisions in Alabama

By Jack Kushner

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 Dr. Jack Kushner
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4502-8347-2

Contents

Introduction........................................................xiii1 Coping with Jim Crow Laws and Customs.............................12 What Is Courage? Who Is Courageous?...............................33 Judicial Behavior.................................................84 Chief Justice George Stone of Alabama.............................155 Judge Thomas Goode Jones..........................................336 The Scottsboro Boys and Judge James E. Horton.....................497 Judge Frank M. Johnson Jr.........................................588 Rule of Law.......................................................799 Becoming Alabama..................................................84Bibliography........................................................97

Chapter One

Coping with Jim Crow Laws and Customs

When African American citizens in the United States of America wanted to travel from one place to another prior to the passage of civil rights laws dealing with public accommodations, they frequently were denied the right to stay at selected hotels, eat at various restaurants, purchase gasoline at service stations, or shop at a few stores (McGee). In 1936, and afterward, a booklet was available that guided them to accommodations that did not insult them by denying service because they were black. By following this guide, African Americans could locate hotels, restaurants, shops, and gas stations that would serve them. By 1949, the booklet had grown to eighty pages. A postal employee named Victor H. Green conceived of this booklet, initially called the Negro Motorist Green Book: An International Travel Guide and later known simply as the Green Book. To most Americans, this book and the problems to which it related were invisible because they did not fully realize that if an African American family wanted to travel from Alabama to New York, they had to take their food and prepare to have difficulty finding a place to stay.

In addition to hotels, the guide mentioned "tourist homes," which were private residences made available to African Americans. Calvin Alexander Ramsey, an Atlanta writer, wrote a play called The Green Book, elucidating this problem. Julian Bond, who now is a professor at American University said, "It was a guidebook that told you not where the best places were to eat, but where there was any place"(McGee).

Traveling on the roads of America could be exhilarating, but such was not the experience for many African Americans because they encountered "sunset laws" in many Southern towns. These laws mandated that African Americans be out of town by the end of the day. So in effect, getting out on the American highways was a privilege for white people. This idea was expressed in more detail by Cotton Seiller in the book Republic of Drivers: A Cultural History of Automobility in America. All of these guides and related books ceased publication once the Civil Rights Act passed in 1964.

Chapter Two

What Is Courage? Who Is Courageous?

When one reads the history of the state of Alabama, "courageous judicial decisions" appears to be an oxymoron because there have not been many such decisions. Most that did occur were related in some fashion to the racial problems that have existed in Alabama from the very beginning of statehood. It is important that we understand just what we mean when we speak of courage. Sustained courage emanates from character, which in itself takes a lifetime to build. Courage can be defined as the moral strength that permits one to face fear and difficulty. Courage requires a certain amount of leadership, and this leadership behavior is admirable and excellent. Making judicial decisions that changed ways of living in Alabama during the days of segregation required courage. These decisions could have severe consequences for one's safety and could affect one's family. Yet despite the potential consequences, there were at least four judges in Alabama who made decisions based on what they thought was the right thing to do and would lead Alabama in the right direction. The judges whose names come immediately to the forefront are George Stone, Thomas G. Jones, James E. Horton Jr., and Frank M. Johnson. Before the four judges discussed in the book are introduced, consider the following extract from the book Courage by Gus Lee, in which Major H. Norman Schwarzkopf tells his troops a story:

"Imagine that you and the troops for which you are responsible are on an international border. The enemy can cross it and strike at you with impunity. But you can't cross the border. That order comes from the commander in chief.

"Every night, the enemy crosses the border to kill and wound your men, who are Vietnamese airborne volunteers in your care.

"Every night, you chase the enemy, but they escape at the border, where you stop, as you are ordered. Here's the question: when the enemy hits you again tonight, do you pursue them over the line? Or do you follow orders and halt at the border? Questions?" Hands went up.

"If we cross it, will it start a new war?" "No."

"If we cross the border, can we destroy the enemy?" "Yes."

"If we cross it and get caught, are we in big trouble?" "Absolutely. Your president will be very displeased. With you. Personally."

There were no more questions.

"Gentlemen, STOP or GO? Write."

It's pretty obvious, I thought. If I've learned one thing here, it's that you follow orders. Especially from the president. Right from wrong. Disobeying the president would be very wrong. OK. I wrote: STOP.

When the last pencil dropped, Major Schwarzkopf asked, "How many said STOP?" I raised my hand. So did most of the section.

"How many said Go?" The major smiled at the few hands.

"There are two kinds of people in the world: leaders and careerists. Leaders have character. They act for what is right. They would die for their men." His words sank into the chalkboards, and the wall.

"Careerists," he said, making the word sound like a crime against God, "are self centered, self absorbed. They act out of selfishness. They sacrifice their men for a promotion. They lie to pump up results.

"They save their skins instead of others'. Careerists can't really lead because their men do not trust them and will not willingly follow.

"The correct answer for a leader, is clear.

"You cross the border. You destroy the enemy to protect your men. You then take the personal consequences to your career, knowing that you violated an order but acted for what is right. You feel pride in getting court-martialed and being reduced to a private.

"Everyone's a leader or isn't. It's not rank. It's character."

"Major Schwarzkopf was not teaching abstract theory; only months before, he had faced that fact pattern on the Cambodian border. A careerist would have let his men keep dying."

"He had risked his career but had protected his people and therefore his priceless integrity and his authority to lead others."

And so it is with the various judges described in this book. Each one of them risked his career to do what he thought was right. In some cases, the judges...