Retired U.S. District Court Judge William Bootle of Macon dies. - A Great American passes away.
Yesterday I received an e-mail from my son-in-law who is clerking for U.S.. District Court Judge Robert Vining. It read: "I thought that you and Bob would be interested in knowing that Judge Bootle passed away this morning."
My son-in-law knew that my partner Bob Porter, one of the four attorneys in our law office, would want to know. Bob clerked for Judge Bootle for two years prior to joining the firm in 1978.
Judge Bootle was instrumental in helping me recruit Bob to join me in Douglas. When I called him to ask for a recommendation on Bob, he was sort of cool toward me, and understandably so. I was 28, in solo practice, and a resident not only of the Other Georgia, but what many perceived to be rural Georgia.
In a monotone voice, he asked where I had attended school. When I replied that I had attended Davidson College undergraduate, the tone of his voice changed. Now I had His Honor's full attention.
I was told by Judge Bootle that his son also had gone to Davidson, and upon his learning that this was my alma mater, things went just fine between us. "And tell me about your practice Sid," etc., the Judge said.
We talked awhile, and during the conversation he allowed how Bob was one of the best clerks he had ever had during his long career on the federal bench.
The following are excerpts from the 01-26-05 Macon Telegraph:
Retired U.S. District Judge William Bootle, who overruled Southern tradition and ordered the desegregation of the University of Georgia and Bibb County public schools, died early Tuesday. He was 102.
His tenure on the bench coincided with the tumult of the civil rights movement in the 1960s and '70s, and he handled many cases that challenged racial discrimination. His orders in 1961 to integrate the University of Georgia and in 1970 to integrate Bibb County schools exposed him to harsh criticism from conservative white contemporaries, but won him the accolades of history.
"He was a man who had the courage of his convictions at a time when it was hard to have the courage of your convictions," said Charlayne Hunter-Gault, one of two black students admitted to UGA under Bootle's order, and now CNN's bureau chief in Johannesburg, South Africa. She added, "He was one of the drum majors for justice."
"He's one of my personal heroes," said attorney Albert Reichert Sr., who knew Bootle more than 50 years. "He had a strong sense of what was right, and what was fair and what was just. He felt that it was right and fair and just that all people be respected. The symbol of justice is blindfolded, colorblind. He took that very seriously."
"Judge Bootle was a lawyer's judge and one of the most principled men I've ever known," said U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall, D-Ga., who once clerked for Bootle. "The world, but certainly Middle Georgia, is a far better place for having had him in our midst for more than a century."
Later, Manis said, when Bootle issued his integration orders, "He lost a number of friends. Some fellow church members refused to speak to him after (he decided) that the law required that blacks be given access to these public institutions. Now, he wouldn't be considered an activist judge. He didn't act in this way until he felt he had the backing of the U.S. Supreme Court. ... He didn't intend to be a hero, but events moved him in that direction and more importantly the law moved him in that direction."
In the late 1950s, Georgia's early civil rights movement recruited two students to break the university system's color barrier: Hamilton Holmes, a football star at Morehouse College, and Charlayne Hunter, the 1958-'59 queen of Turner High School in Atlanta.
When they applied for admission to UGA, they were turned away. Not, officials said, on account of race, but because of other reasons that somehow kept interfering. No room in the dorms. Complications in transferring Hunter's credits from Wayne State University in Detroit. A traffic ticket on Holmes' record.
It took a federal lawsuit and a Macon judge to break through the subterfuge.
On Jan. 6, 1961, Bootle ordered the university to admit the black students. His ruling sparked an uproar.
Two nights after his decision was announced, Bootle was burned in effigy on the Macon campus of Mercer University, his alma mater. Five days later, when Bootle barred the state from cutting off funds to newly integrated UGA, then-Gov. Ernest Vandiver angrily denounced Bootle's "shocking attempt at usurpation" of state sovereignty.
Bootle later said, "I could not flinch in the face of duty. Simple as that. The federal judge had to assume the responsibility. He had to do it."
And one more quote from the AP:
"Judge Bootle took the lead in bringing about the elimination of segregation in the field of education and otherwise," said Carl Sanders, Georgia's governor from 1963 to 1967. "At the time, most politicians didn't appreciate his attitude and his decisions. But in the long run, when you look back on the result of what he was trying to do, you can't help but admit and admire the courage and the legal fortitude that he expressed at that particular time in the history of our state and the country."
And saving the best for last, a comment you won't see anywhere else, but from one of the most qualified and knowledgeable persons in America about such matters and the judicial career of Judge Bootle, my friend Bill Shipp:
"Judge Bootle is one of the major unsung heroes of our state. He did not equivocate when ordering our state and local officials to obey the law – or else. Without Judge Bootle, the desegregation the University of Georgia might have turned into another Ole Miss or Alabama. Instead, we integrated with minimum conflict and became a regional pacesetter in higher education. Judge Bootle’s firm and intelligent hand is largely responsible for that. In every decision regarding racial matters during the turbulent 1960s, Judge Bootle made it clear that he would not tolerate lawlessness or the advocacy of lawlessness in any form."
My son-in-law knew that my partner Bob Porter, one of the four attorneys in our law office, would want to know. Bob clerked for Judge Bootle for two years prior to joining the firm in 1978.
Judge Bootle was instrumental in helping me recruit Bob to join me in Douglas. When I called him to ask for a recommendation on Bob, he was sort of cool toward me, and understandably so. I was 28, in solo practice, and a resident not only of the Other Georgia, but what many perceived to be rural Georgia.
In a monotone voice, he asked where I had attended school. When I replied that I had attended Davidson College undergraduate, the tone of his voice changed. Now I had His Honor's full attention.
I was told by Judge Bootle that his son also had gone to Davidson, and upon his learning that this was my alma mater, things went just fine between us. "And tell me about your practice Sid," etc., the Judge said.
We talked awhile, and during the conversation he allowed how Bob was one of the best clerks he had ever had during his long career on the federal bench.
The following are excerpts from the 01-26-05 Macon Telegraph:
Retired U.S. District Judge William Bootle, who overruled Southern tradition and ordered the desegregation of the University of Georgia and Bibb County public schools, died early Tuesday. He was 102.
His tenure on the bench coincided with the tumult of the civil rights movement in the 1960s and '70s, and he handled many cases that challenged racial discrimination. His orders in 1961 to integrate the University of Georgia and in 1970 to integrate Bibb County schools exposed him to harsh criticism from conservative white contemporaries, but won him the accolades of history.
"He was a man who had the courage of his convictions at a time when it was hard to have the courage of your convictions," said Charlayne Hunter-Gault, one of two black students admitted to UGA under Bootle's order, and now CNN's bureau chief in Johannesburg, South Africa. She added, "He was one of the drum majors for justice."
"He's one of my personal heroes," said attorney Albert Reichert Sr., who knew Bootle more than 50 years. "He had a strong sense of what was right, and what was fair and what was just. He felt that it was right and fair and just that all people be respected. The symbol of justice is blindfolded, colorblind. He took that very seriously."
"Judge Bootle was a lawyer's judge and one of the most principled men I've ever known," said U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall, D-Ga., who once clerked for Bootle. "The world, but certainly Middle Georgia, is a far better place for having had him in our midst for more than a century."
Later, Manis said, when Bootle issued his integration orders, "He lost a number of friends. Some fellow church members refused to speak to him after (he decided) that the law required that blacks be given access to these public institutions. Now, he wouldn't be considered an activist judge. He didn't act in this way until he felt he had the backing of the U.S. Supreme Court. ... He didn't intend to be a hero, but events moved him in that direction and more importantly the law moved him in that direction."
In the late 1950s, Georgia's early civil rights movement recruited two students to break the university system's color barrier: Hamilton Holmes, a football star at Morehouse College, and Charlayne Hunter, the 1958-'59 queen of Turner High School in Atlanta.
When they applied for admission to UGA, they were turned away. Not, officials said, on account of race, but because of other reasons that somehow kept interfering. No room in the dorms. Complications in transferring Hunter's credits from Wayne State University in Detroit. A traffic ticket on Holmes' record.
It took a federal lawsuit and a Macon judge to break through the subterfuge.
On Jan. 6, 1961, Bootle ordered the university to admit the black students. His ruling sparked an uproar.
Two nights after his decision was announced, Bootle was burned in effigy on the Macon campus of Mercer University, his alma mater. Five days later, when Bootle barred the state from cutting off funds to newly integrated UGA, then-Gov. Ernest Vandiver angrily denounced Bootle's "shocking attempt at usurpation" of state sovereignty.
Bootle later said, "I could not flinch in the face of duty. Simple as that. The federal judge had to assume the responsibility. He had to do it."
And one more quote from the AP:
"Judge Bootle took the lead in bringing about the elimination of segregation in the field of education and otherwise," said Carl Sanders, Georgia's governor from 1963 to 1967. "At the time, most politicians didn't appreciate his attitude and his decisions. But in the long run, when you look back on the result of what he was trying to do, you can't help but admit and admire the courage and the legal fortitude that he expressed at that particular time in the history of our state and the country."
And saving the best for last, a comment you won't see anywhere else, but from one of the most qualified and knowledgeable persons in America about such matters and the judicial career of Judge Bootle, my friend Bill Shipp:
"Judge Bootle is one of the major unsung heroes of our state. He did not equivocate when ordering our state and local officials to obey the law – or else. Without Judge Bootle, the desegregation the University of Georgia might have turned into another Ole Miss or Alabama. Instead, we integrated with minimum conflict and became a regional pacesetter in higher education. Judge Bootle’s firm and intelligent hand is largely responsible for that. In every decision regarding racial matters during the turbulent 1960s, Judge Bootle made it clear that he would not tolerate lawlessness or the advocacy of lawlessness in any form."
posted by Sid Cottingham | 6:57 AM
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