Arizona sun., 1962-03-08
Carter Writes Letter To Minow

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/ Mr.. Newton N, Minow
Chairman, Federal
Communications Commission
Washington Is, D. c.
Dear Sir:
want to call the attention of
the Commission to what we believe
to be violation of the Federal
Communications Act title AZ,
United States Code, Section 6O5)
in connection with proceedings on
December 27-28, 1861, in the Cir
cult Court of Montgomery County,
Montgomery. Alabama, before
Judge Walter B. Jones. in State
of Alabama, ex rel Macdonald
Gallon, Attorney General of the
State of Alabama ". National AS
sociation for the Advancement OF
Colored People.
This case commenced on June
l., 1856. when the State of Alabama
secured an ex parte temporary
restraining order and injunction
ousting the National Association for
the Advancement of Colored People
from the State of Alabama. The
organization had had affiliates in
Alabama since 1918. The purport-
ed basis for the States injunction
was that the NA.A.C.P., a New
York corporation, was doing busi-
ness in Alabama without comply
| ing with appropriate State laws
respecting domesticati0n of out-of-
state corporations. Before that is
sue could be determined on its
merits, the court ordered the Ma
| IACP to furnish to the Attorney Gen.
eral with the names and addresses
of all of its rank and file members.
Resistance to this order resulted
in a contempt citation which was
Eventually reversed by the United
State Supreme Court. (NAACP v.
Alabama, 357 U. S. 449, 800 U. S.
24O).
Reversal of the contempt adjudi-
cation in the Supreme Court, how
ever, did not result in a hearing
! on the merits. After a long but
futile effort to secure such a hear
ing in the State courts; i.e., as to
whether the State has authority to
oust the organization from the
State of Alabama for mere fail
ure to register with the Secretary
of State as an out-of-state corpora
ton, the organization sought relief
in the federal courts. On October
17, 1861, the United States Supreme
Court. in a per curiam opinion,
ordered the United States District
Court in Montgomery to proceed
with a trial of the merits in the
case unless, no later than January
2, 1862. the State of Alabama had
accorded to the NAACP an op-
portunity to be heard on the validi-
ty of the June 1, Sc, temporary re-
straining order and injuctiOn.-U.
S 80 L. w. 313O. Pursuant to
that order, the hearing above re-
ferred to took place.
At the hearing there were no
issues raised or to be determined
. respecting any alleged violation
of the June 1, 1856, injunction. The
sole issue before the court was
whether the NAACP should be
placed under permanent injunction
barring it from Alabama because
of its failure to register as foreign
corporation. 1t also should be point
ed out that this was not a crimina
action but proceedings in equity.
AS part of its evidence. the
State called as a witness a William
1 M. Eagerton, who described him
self as the North Alabama Business
Relations Manager for the South.
ern Bell Telephone & Telegraph
Company, with offices in Birm-
ingham, Alabama. He proceeded
to put into the record, over our
objections, every long distance tele-
phone call made to and from the
telephone number of Mr.. w. C.
Patton.
Mr.. Patton is an employee of
| the NAACP and a resident of Birm-