Title: Mississippi's federal courts : a history /
Authors: Hargrove, David Michael, 1968-
Year: 2019
Subjects: Courts Mississippi History.; Judges Mississippi History.; Law Mississippi History.; Courts; Judges; Law; Mississippi
Abstract: "This resource produces the first comprehensive history of the state's federal courts from the inception of the Mississippi Territory to the late twentieth century. Using archival material and legal documents, David M. Hargrove untangles the state's complex legal history, which includes slavery and secession, the Civil War and Reconstruction, Jim Crow and civil rights. In this important overview of the United States courts in Mississippi, Hargrove surveys the state's federal judiciary as it rules on key issues in Mississippi's past. He examines the court as it mediates conflict between regional and national agendas as well as protects constitutional rights of the state's African American citizens during the Reconstruction and civil rights eras. Hargrove traces how political activities of the state's federal judges affected public perceptions of an independent judiciary. Growing demands for federal judicial and law enforcement infrastructure, he notes, called for courthouses that remain iconic presences in the state's largest cities. Hargrove presents detailed judicial biographies of judges who shaped Mississippi's federal bench. Commissioned by the state's federal judiciary to write the book, he offers balanced perspectives on jurists whose reputations have suffered in hindsight, while illuminating the achievements of those who have received little public recognition."--Provided by publisher.
Contents: The courts of the Mississippi territory, 1798-1817 -- The Mississippi district court and its judges, 1818-1838 -- States' rights and secession, 1839-1861 -- War and congressional reconstruction, 1861-1870 -- Klan violence and democratic domination, 1870-1891 -- "$100 and thirty days": roping blind tigers, 1891-1918 -- Enforcing the national prohibition act, 1919-1929 -- A second federal judge for Mississippi, 1929-1949 -- Defiant democrats, 1950-1961 -- The road to compliance, 1961-1983 -- The US courts of Mississippi.