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.

Prior to this suit, pro-segregation Judge Albert Hare of Alabama's state court for Dallas County, where Selma was located, issued an injunction on July 9, 1964 effectively making it unlawful to conduct large public protests or gather to discuss and plan civil rights activism. Specifically, the injunction made the following activities unlawful: (1) assembly of three or more people in a public place for the purposes of discussing "violation of law" or that otherwise impaired the use of roads, (2) meetings or activities intended to impede or obstruct "the administration of justice or the orderly function of government," (3) activities intended to impede law enforcement officials from exercising their duties, and (4) conduct otherwise against law enforcement officers. The injunction thus made it difficult for civil rights activists and organizations to continue to conduct their activities in Selma.

The injunction was issued after officials from Dallas County and the City of Selma initiated the proceedings against various civil rights organizations and activists, including the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Southern Christian Leadership Council (SCLC), and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). State officials sought an injunction in state court based on a complaint and exhibits shown to Judge Hare but never actually filed.

On July 13, 1964, the civil rights entities removed the injunction to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama. There, they moved to dissolve the injunction while the state officials moved to remand the case back to state court. The civil rights entities argued that the injunction violated the Civil Rights Act, as well as the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments. The federal court denied remand and dissolved the injunction on April 16, 1965.

The case is closed. We have limited access to case records and information, and we will update this page if more become available.

Virginia Weeks - 04/14/2018


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