FROM THE BENCH
A Hundred Yankee Judges Visit Historic Judge Frank M . Johnson ’ s Alabama Court
HON . MELISSA A . LONG Associate Justice , Rhode Island Supreme Court mlong @ courts . ri . gov
HON . JOHN J . MCCONNELL , JR . Chief Judge , U . S . District Court for the District of Rhode Island judge _ mcconnell @ rid . uscourts . gov
U nlike Hank Morgan , Mark Twain ’ s fictional “ Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur ’ s Court ,” it was not a blow to the head that transported the two of us and our judicial colleagues through time and space . Nevertheless , on the afternoon of October 24 , 2024 , about 100 state and federal court judges from New England 1 ( and a smattering from beyond ) sat in the historic courtroom where the Hon . Frank M . Johnson , Jr . presided from 1955 to 1979 . 2
1 The views expressed in this article are solely those of the authors . The authors do not speak for any other judges or personnel of their courts . The authors thank Natalie DeAngelis and Colleen Hanna for their research assistance . 2 Judge Johnson ’ s career : https :// achievement . org / achiever / frank-m-johnson /
10 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2024