Description: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., led the black drive for civil rights, but the changes he sought came largely in legal opinions issued by federal judges. Foremost of these was Frank Minis Johnson, Jr., of Montgomery, Alabama, who presided over some of the most emotional hearings and trials of the rights movement--hearings brimming with dramatic and poignant testimony from the black people who cried out for the freedoms that are the legacy of all Americans. Beginning with Judge Johnson's coming-of-age in the hill country of Winston County, Alabama, this book covers many of his notable cases: the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Freedom Rides, school desegregation, the Selma-to-Montgomery march, and the night-rider slaying of Viola Liuzzo, as well as Johnson's work for prisoners, women, and the mentally ill. Much of the book is comprised of interviews and direct quotes from Johnson himself, making this recounting of Judge Johnson's life dynamically autobiographical. Includes a new introduction and afterword by the author, Frank Sikora.
Brief description: FRANK SIKORA, a native of Byesville, Ohio, is a veteran journalist and the author of The Judge: The Life and Opinions of Alabama's Frank M. Johnson, Jr.; Selma, Lord, Selma; and Until Justice Rolls Down: The Birmingham Church Bombing Case. He is recently retired from the Birmingham News.
Review Quotes: The Judge gives an inside look that blends court transcripts, reporting, and exhaustive oral history interviews with Judge Johnson, originally conducted over the course of years from 1976 to 1989. A no-nonsense look behind the scenes of the courtroom, and a welcome contribution to biography as well as American History shelves.-- "Midwest Book Review"