Defending Constitutional Rights

Perceptive writings and opinions of a powerful figure in twentieth-century civil rights legislation Federal Judge Frank M. Johnson of Alabama decided many of the most important civil rights and liberties cases in twentieth-century American history. During the 1950s and sixties, his decisions supported Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights fighters in their struggles for justice and equality. Johnson extended the Constitutional defense of individual rights for women, students, prisoners, mental health patients, poor criminal defendants, and voters during his active judicial career, which lasted until 1991. This collection assembles some of Johnson’s most thought-provoking and insightful essays, many published as journal articles that explain and defend a number of his decisions. Also included in this volume is the first published transcript of a 1980 public television interview with Bill Moyers, in which Johnson personally explains his historic decisions. Meticulously detailed and documented, yet accessible to a wide range of readers, this book explores the constitutional ideals that Johnson forged and defended as he persistently overcame public officials’ resistance to constitutional rights and social change.