FROM THE BENCH
1970 to over 2.2 million in 2009 . 4 Countless forced family separations . 5 More than 4,000 documented lynchings between 1877 and 1950 . 6 There was shock , discomfort , and grief . More than one judge wept throughout the day .
How to regroup from such an overwhelming confrontation with the truth ? Powerfully , of course . At the end of the full day at the Legacy Sites , the judges were honored to dine with civil rights champion Fred Gray , Esq . The 93-year-old attorney shared inspiring stories about his lifelong mission : fighting segregation and discrimination through advocacy in the courts . His remarks were both a postscript to the day and a prelude to the judges ’ trip to Selma the following afternoon . They traveled to the site where , on Sunday , March 7 , 1965 , a bloody confrontation led Mr . Gray to file a class action lawsuit seeking injunctive relief against Governor George C . Wallace and other state actors . In granting an injunction against the defendants , Judge Johnson found that the plaintiffs , after proceeding peaceably across the Edmund Pettus Bridge , “ were then prodded , struck , beaten and knocked down by members of the Alabama State Troopers . The mounted ‘ possemen ,’ supposedly acting as an auxiliary law enforcement unit of the Dallas County sheriff ’ s office , then , on their horses , moved in and chased and beat the fleeing Negroes .” 7
JoAnne Bland , a witness to “ Bloody Sunday ,” addressed the judges during their visit to Selma . Ms . Bland , who was just eleven years old on March 7 , 1965 , gave a powerful first-hand account of the sights , sounds , and smells of that day . She described the noxious gasses released into the crowd of marchers and shared that she will never forget the sound of a woman ’ s head striking the pavement on that day 59 years ago .
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Like all judges , we New England judges preside over heavy calendars in busy courtrooms . Our workplaces are venues for truth-seeking , accountability , and justice according to the rule of law ; but also places of trauma , where parties , victims , and witnesses often relive and recount violent or tragic events . So why would 100 judges
take time away from their difficult workloads and pay out of pocket to confront traumatic truths about America ’ s past ? The authors can ( and do ) speak only for themselves , as surely there are as many reasons for taking the journey as there were judges on the trip . However , at a time of declining public trust in the institutions of American government , including the courts , 8 it is important to acknowledge that trust comes from honesty , and justice comes from truth . Acknowledging the truth of American history — similar to how judges , lawyers , and parties acknowledge facts and truth in legal proceedings — opens the way for " We the People " to continue the work begun by the Founding Fathers , continued during Reconstruction and furthered during the civil rights era of Mr . Gray ’ s youth : “ form [ ing ] a more perfect Union , establish [ ing ] Justice , ensur [ ing ] domestic Tranquility , provid [ ing ] for the common defence , promot [ ing ] the general Welfare , and secur [ ing ] the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity [.]”
4 The total number of adult prisoners in state and federal institutions in 1970 was 196,441 and included some misdemeanants . See U . S . DEP ’ T OF JUST ., BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS : HISTORICAL STATISTICS ON PRISONERS IN STATE AND FEDERAL INSTITUTIONS , YEAREND 1925-86 , 15 ( 1988 ) https :// www . ojp . gov / pdffiles1 / Digitization / 111098NCJRS . pdf . The total number of individuals confined in American jails and prisons in 2009 was 2,284,900 , which may include some juveniles held in adult facilities . See U . S . DEP ’ T OF JUST ., BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATIS- TICS BULLETIN : CORRECTIONAL POPULATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES , 2009 1 , 2 ( 2010 ) https :// bjs . ojp . gov / content / pub / pdf / cpus09 . pdf .
5 “ Roughly half of all enslaved people were separated from their spouses and parents ; about one in four of those sold were children . Ads for the Thomas L . Frazer & Co . Slave Mart in Montgomery , Alabama , boasted that it had ‘ constantly on hand a large and well selected stock ’ of Black boys and girls .” Black Families Severed by Slavery , EQUAL JUST . INITIATIVE , https :// eji . org / news / history-racial-injustice-black-families-severed-by-slavery / ( last visited Nov . 18 , 2024 ).
6 EQUAL JUST . INITIATIVE , LYNCHING IN AMERICA : CONFRONTING THE LEGACY OF RACIAL TERROR 4 ( 2017 ), https :// eji . org / wpcontent / uploads / 2005 / 11 / lynching-in-america-3d-ed-110121 . pdf . 7 Williams v . Wallace , 240 F . Supp . 100 , 105 ( M . D . Ala . 1965 ). 8 The annual State of State Courts Surveys , commissioned by the National Center for State Courts , have consistently revealed that many survey respondents are skeptical of the idea that state courts provide equal justice to all members of society , or the idea that state courts facilitate adequate customer service to those involved in the state judicial system . Unfortunately , this appears to be particularly true of court users who are people of color , those who do not have a college education , and those who are young . The 2023 survey of 1000 registered voters explained that “ Black voters are also considerably less likely to say the courts are protecting rights and treating people with dignity and respect than White or Hispanic voters .” GBAO , 2023 STATE OF THE STATE COURTS – NATIONAL SURVEY ANALYSIS 4 ( 2023 ), https :// www . ncsc . org /__ data / assets / pdf _ file / 0039 / 96879 / 2023- SoSC-Analysis-2023 . pdf .
12 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2024