Frank Johnson | |
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| Senior Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | |
| In office October 30, 1991 – July 23, 1999 | |
| Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | |
| In office October 1, 1981 – October 30, 1991 | |
| Preceded by | Seat established |
| Succeeded by | Edward Earl Carnes |
| Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit | |
| In office June 21, 1979 – October 1, 1981 | |
| Appointed by | Jimmy Carter |
| Preceded by | Seat established |
| Succeeded by | Seat abolished |
| Chief Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama | |
| In office June 29, 1966 – June 21, 1979 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Robert Edward Varner |
| Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama | |
| In office October 22, 1955 – June 21, 1979 | |
| Appointed by | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| Preceded by | Charles Brents Kennamer |
| Succeeded by | Myron H. Thompson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Frank Minis Johnson Jr. (1918-10-30)October 30, 1918 Delmar, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | July 23, 1999(1999-07-23) (aged 80) Montgomery, Alabama, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Education | University of Alabama (LLB) |
Frank Minis Johnson Jr. (October 30, 1918 – July 23, 1999) was aUnited States district judge and United States circuit judge, who served from 1955 to 1999 on theUnited States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama,United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit andUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He made landmark civil rights rulings that helped endsegregation anddisenfranchisement of African Americans in the South. In the words of journalist and historianBill Moyers, Judge Johnson "altered forever the face of the South."
Johnson was born in 1918 inDelmar, Alabama and grew up in nearbyHaleyville in northernAlabama, a longtime independent-minded part of the state.Winston County had opposed secession during theAmerican Civil War.[1] While a student, he was asked by a staunchly Democratic classmate why he insisted upon being a Republican, to which Johnson replied that there were "so few of us that one day I might be a federal judge." Another classmateGeorge C. Wallace, future governor of the state, overheard the remark and replied, "Well, that'll be the day. I'll be governor by then."[2] Wallace would prove to be Johnson'sbête noire during the civil rights era of the 1960s.
Johnson graduated from theUniversity of Alabama and later theUniversity of Alabama School of Law with aBachelor of Laws in 1943, and was admitted to the bar.[3]
He married Ruth Jenkins, a classmate from the University of Alabama. Johnson served in theUnited States Army inEurope duringWorld War II, while his wife Ruth served in theWAVES as an adviser to Hollywood directors making films about the war.
After military service, Johnson entered private law practice inJasper, Alabama from 1946 to 1953. Unlike most white voters of the time in Alabama, he became active in politics with theRepublican Party, serving as a delegate to the1948 Republican National Convention. He managed Alabama's "Veterans for Eisenhower" group during the 1952 campaign. Johnson was known as a foe of the Democratic Party's segregationist policies. He was appointed as theUnited States Attorney for theNorthern District of Alabama from 1953 to 1955, during PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower's administration.[3]
Johnson received arecess appointment from PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower on October 22, 1955, to a seat on theUnited States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama vacated by JudgeCharles Kennamer. He was nominated to the same position on January 12, 1956. He was confirmed by theUnited States Senate on January 31, 1956, and received his commission on February 1, 1956. He served as chief judge from 1966 to 1979. His service terminated on July 12, 1979, due to his elevation to the Fifth Circuit.[3]
In 1956, Johnson ruled in favor ofRosa Parks, striking down the "blacks in the back of the bus" law of the city ofMontgomery Alabama, as unconstitutional. In orders issued in 1961 and 1962, he ordered the desegregation of bus depots (such as theMontgomery Greyhound station) and theMontgomery Regional Airport in Alabama's Middle judicial district. In 1961 he ordered theKu Klux Klan andMontgomery police to stop the beating and harassment of Freedom Riders attempting to integrate interstate bus travel.[4]
In March 1965, Johnson ruled that activists had the right to undertake theSelma to Montgomery march as a means to petition the government, overturning GovernorGeorge Wallace's prohibition of the march as contrary to public safety. Thousands of sympathizers traveled to Selma to join the march, which had 25,000 participants by its last leg into Montgomery on March 25, 1965. It was considered integral to gaining passage by Congress of theVoting Rights Act of 1965.
Johnson received death threats and ostracism for his role in advancing civil rights, and was protected byfederal marshals for nearly two decades. Aburning cross was placed on his lawn in 1956 following the Rosa Parks decision, and his mother's house was bombed in 1967, although she was not hurt.[5][6]
Johnson was nominated by PresidentJimmy Carter on April 2, 1979, to theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, to a new seat established by 92 Stat. 1629. He was confirmed by the Senate on June 19, 1979, and received his commission on June 21, 1979. His service terminated on October 1, 1981, due to reassignment to the Eleventh Circuit.[3]
Johnson was reassigned to the newly establishedUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit byoperation of law on October 1, 1981. He assumedsenior status on October 30, 1991. He was succeeded on the bench by JudgeEdward Earl Carnes. His service terminated on July 23, 1999, upon his death.[3]
Johnson additionally served on theTemporary Emergency Court of Appeals from 1972 to 1982.[3]
Johnson served more than 40 years on the federal bench. At the memorial service after his death, he was praised by formerUnited States SenatorHowell Heflin, Democrat of Alabama, who said that the judge's "unrelenting devotion to the rule of law" helped him strike down segregation laws.[1]
In 1977 President Carter and Attorney GeneralGriffin Bell asked Johnson to becomeFBI Director when DirectorClarence M. Kelley stepped down. But, the day after Carter nominated him, Johnson was found to have ananeurysm, or abnormal swelling, of his abdominalaorta. His nomination had to be withdrawn andWilliam H. Webster was nominated in his place.
Johnson died at his home in Montgomery ofpneumonia after being briefly hospitalized for a fall at his home the week prior.[7]
Judge Johnson's impact led to the creation of the Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr. Institute. The Johnson Institute became a non-partisan voice that shares the stories of the American Constitution and the American Judiciary through programs that illuminate issues and perspectives, foster thoughtful and civil discourse, and inspire our national community in our nation’s never-ending pursuit of a more perfect union.
Ordered the racial integration of the public transportation system of the city ofMontgomery, Alabama.[11]
Invalidated a plan by the city ofTuskegee, Alabama to dilute potential black voting strength by redrawing city boundaries so as to exclude concentrations of black voters from the city.
Ordered that black persons be registered to vote if their application papers were equal to the performance of the least qualified white applicant accepted on the voting rolls.[12]
Required desegregation of the bus depots of the city of Montgomery, as these served interstate buses operating under federal law.
Ordered the city of Montgomery to surrender its voting registration records to theUS Department of Justice; DOJ was studying why so few African Americans were registered to vote in a state with numerous majority-black counties.
Required desegregation of airport and related facilities at Dannelly Field in the city of Montgomery[13]
Required thestate of Alabama to reapportion state legislative districts to adhere to the 'one man, one vote' principle as stipulated in its 1901 constitution. The state districts had not been reapportioned since that date, although such reapportionment was supposed to take place following every decennial census. This had resulted in marked under-representation of urban citizens, as demographic changes had created density of population in urbanized cities and areas[14]
Mandated, in Alabama, the first statewide desegregation of public schools.
Ordered Gov.George Wallace in March 1965 to permit theSelma to Montgomery march to take place, which was organized by theSouthern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), DCVL and SNCC.[15]
Ruled that the state of Alabama must permit both male and female Blacks to serve on juries; they were qualified after regaining the ability to register and vote. The case was brought as a class action suit on behalf of black residents onLowndes County, Alabama; other class members joined so that the decision applied to the state. It was "one of the first civil actions brought to remedy systematic exclusion of Negroes from jury service generally."[16]
Declared the Alabamapoll tax unconstitutional.
Ruled that women had a statutory right to choose, for themselves, whether to work in physically demanding jobs that were historically performed by men.
Ordered the desegregation of the Montgomery chapter of theYMCA.
Established a right to treatment for people with mental illness who have been involuntarily committed.
Required the state of Alabama to continue hiring (as ordered by the court in 1972) to overcome decades of racial discrimination in the Dept. of Public Safety, wherein the department should hire 50% blacks in state trooper and support positions until racial parity of 25% representation was achieved.
Upheld that existing U.S. law supersededcustomary international law.
You see, after finishing law school, I had the great honor and privilege of clerking for the Honorable Frank M. Johnson, Jr., the judge played by Martin Sheen
| Legal offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama 1955–1979 | Succeeded by |
| New office | Chief Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama 1966–1979 | Succeeded by |
| New seat | Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit 1979–1981 | Seat abolished |
| Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit 1981–1991 | Succeeded by | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
