FEBRUARY 2020 SECTION MEETINGS

On February 1 st , two days after King’s house was bombed, a petition- which would eventually become the historic case of Browder v. Gayle- was filed in the U.S. District Court challenging the constitutionality of the Alabama state statutes and Montgomery city ordinances requiring the segregation of buses 6 . On June 5 th , the District Court ruled segregation on Alabama’s intrastate buses was unconstitutional, citing Brown v. Board of Education as precedent for the verdict 7 . Despite the ruling, King urged the continuance of the Montgomery bus boycott until the ruling took effect.

On November 13, 1956, the Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s ruling and struck down all laws requiring segregated seating on public buses 8 . However, the boycott continued until the order physically arrived in Montgomery- leading the MIA to operate the boycott for an additional month. On December 20th, thirteen months after the boycott began, King called for the end of the bus boycott. The next day, early in the morning, King boarded an integrated bus with civil rights leaders Ralph Abernathy, Nixon, and Glenn Smiley 9 . King would not have won his first victory, the Montgomery bus boycott, if Marshall had not first won the Brown case. Marshall fought for equality in the courtroom- dedicating his life to the law. King fought for equality in the public- giving his life for the people. They were different; yet, they were the same. Both were fighters in the war of equality for all- a war still being fought today.

ENDNOTES: 6 Browder v. Gayle 142 F. Supp. 707. 7 Id at 716. 8 Browder v. Gayle, 352 U.S. 903. 9 Id. at Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Wednesday 5 th Noon | Young Lawyers Division Topic: Jury Selection and Jury Trials with Dennis Lieberman 4pm | Estate Planning Trust & Probate Topic: Charitable Trusts/Classification and Creation with Ed Smith and Jack Pook

Friday 7 th 11:30am | Public Service & Congeniality @ The Old Courthouse

Tuesday 11 th Noon | Labor & Employment Topic: Managing Workplace Violence 5pm | Civil Practice & ADR @ Mudlick Tap House, 135 East 2nd St. Topic: Hot Topics in Civil Litigation

Wednesday 12 th Noon | Appellate Court Practice

Thursday 13 th Noon | Domestic Relations Noon | Real Property

Wednesday 19 th Noon | Criminal Law

Thursday 20 th Noon | Workers Comp & Social Security

Friday 21 st Noon | Diversity Issues @ Legal Aid Offices

Contact Tyler to Join a DBA Section! twright@daybar.org