Charles Hamilton Houston
The young and brilliant legal counsel to the NAACP and Dean of Howard University ’ s Law School accepted the case when urged to do so by the head of the NAACP . Houston , only 37 years old at the time , was one of the most wellknown African American lawyers and legal scholars in the United States . Houston was already acclaimed for turning a mediocre school into one of the premier law schools in the country .
For the Crawford case he assembled an impressive group of African American lawyers and aides . This highly qualified team , the first black attorneys to ever appear in the Loudoun Courthouse , was praised by all sides for their high competence and professionalism .
However , despite their impressive degrees , their obvious ability , and the praise they received in the press and from all their colleagues in the Courthouse , the Crawford legal team could not find any lodging or public place to eat in Leesburg , and had to take their meals in the back of a small black-owned barbershop .
Crawford to Virginia jurisdiction .
Then , back in Loudoun , Houston decided during preparation for the case that there was too much evidence pointing to the defendant ’ s guilt , and instead determined to save his life . Houston and his team developed a strategy that included a challenge to the basic fairness of the court and , especially , the jury selection process . In a careful and professional manner Houston and his team worked to build an understanding of the process in Loudoun that led to the systematic exclusion of black people from selection for either grand or trial juries . They relentlessly but politely and professionally questioned the senior judge and other officials who were responsible for selecting people for Loudoun ’ s jury list , creating an official record that clearly demonstrated the entire biased process . Houston and his colleagues ’ combination of deep research and scholarship , eloquence and professionalism led to praise from parties on both sides . Crawford was found guilty , but his life was spared and he was sentenced to life in prison . This was considered to be a major step forward and an important victory , not just because he was a black man tried and judged by a white judge and jurors in a southern courthouse who was given a rare lesser sentence , but also because Houston and his team had successfully exposed the biased process of jury selection and other procedural issues as a major element of their case . A couple years later the U . S . Supreme Court finally ruled that biased jury selection was unconstitutional .
The cause of basic justice was advanced , Houston and the NAACP ’ s national strategy was advanced , the credibility and reputation of Howard law school was advanced , the opportunities for African American attorneys to actually practice in courtrooms were advanced , the potential for civil rights justice was advanced ,
The Case ’ s Significance
The first order of business was to get Crawford back from Boston , where he had fled fearing for his life . He had been charged in Loudoun , but a federal judge in Massachusetts had refused to extradite him on the grounds that he could not get a fair trial in Virginia . The extradition case went all the way to the U . S . Supreme Court , and some members of Congress threatened to impeach the federal judge before it was agreed to return
Couthouse photo
Courthouse Interior . On February 7th , 2023 , the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted to officially name the multiple county court buildings as the Loudoun County Courthouse Complex and to name the 1895 historic courthouse for Charles Hamilton Houston to honor his significant role in the 1933 Loudoun case and his position as a major figure in the long struggle for equal justice .
Audrey Windsor Bergner Research Collection , ca . 1900 - 2007 ( VC 0014 ), Thomas Balch Library ,, Leesburg , VA .
16 wander I spring • summer 2023