Filed Date: 1958
Closed Date: 1959
Clearinghouse coding complete
This case is part of the Clearinghouse Special Collection on the events and litigation leading up to and surrounding the famous Selma-to-Montgomery marches of 1965.
On October 23, 1958, the Department of Justice responded to complaints of voter discrimination in Alabama. The DOJ scheduled a public hearing in Montgomery, AL for Dec. 8, 1959 and in the meantime sought permission to examine registration and voting records of various counties. The custodians were the various county registrars and state Judge George Wallace. (Wallace, of course, later became the race-baiting governor of Alabama, and a failed presidential hopeful.) These officials refused permission, prompting the DOJ to issue subpoenas for the records of various counties between December 2 and 4, 1958.
Once again, state officials did not comply, prompting the DOJ to seek relief from the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama against the custodians. On Jan. 5, 1959, the court (Judge Frank Johnson) issued an order compelling the registrars and Judge Wallace to produce registration and voting records in their custody. Thereafter, the DOJ moved for further relief, seeking enforcement of subpoena and arguing that the state officials had not complied - and refused to comply - with that order. The state officials argued, among other things, that enforcement of the subpoena would violate Alabama's state sovereignty.
On Jan. 9, 1959, Judge Johnson ordered state officials to comply with the subpoena (170 F. Supp. 63). The federal court found that the Civil Rights Act's voter discrimination provisions were appropriately enacted under the Fifteenth Amendment's enforcement clause, and that Alabama's sovereignty therefore gave way to the enforcement of this federal law. The court found that the subpoena was appropriately issued pursuant to the Act's voter discrimination provisions, and that the DOJ permissibly requested the district court's intervention. Further, the court found that Judge Wallace did not have any sort of immunity or privilege due to his position as a judge with regard to obeying a subpoena issued under federal law pursuant to the Fifteenth Amendment.
The case is closed. We have limited access to case records and information, and we will update this page if more become available.
Summary Authors
Virginia Weeks (4/6/2018)
Johnson, Frank Minis Jr. (Alabama)
Last updated April 18, 2024, 3:04 a.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: Alabama
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Civil Rights Division Archival Collection
Selma and Early Civil Rights Enforcement
Key Dates
Filing Date: 1958
Closing Date: 1959
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Department of Justice
Plaintiff Type(s):
U.S. Dept of Justice plaintiff
Attorney Organizations:
U.S. Dept. of Justice Civil Rights Division
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Judge George Wallace, Private Entity/Person
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Civil Rights Act of 1957/1960, 52 U.S.C. § 10101 (previously 42 U.S.C. § 1971)
Constitutional Clause(s):
Special Case Type(s):
Warrant or subpoena application
Available Documents:
Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Content of Injunction:
Order Duration: 1959 - None
Issues
General/Misc.:
Discrimination Basis:
Affected Race(s):
Voting: