Elbert Tuttle Elbert Parr Tuttle ( July 17 , 1897 – June 23 , 1996 ) , one of the " Fifth Circuit Four " , and a liberal Republican from Georgia , was chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from 1960 to 1967 , when that court became known for a series of decisions crucial in advancing the civil rights of African - Americans . At that time , the Fifth Circuit included not only Louisiana , Mississippi , and Texas ( its jurisdiction ) , but also Alabama , Georgia , Florida , and the Panama Canal Zone . Tuttle was born in Pasadena , California . In 1906 , his family moved to Hawaii where he attended Punahou School . In October 1910 , he and his brother Malcolm built and flew the first glider in Hawaii . Tuttle then attended Cornell University in Ithaca , New York , from which he graduated in 1918 . He then fought in World War I in the United States Army Air Service from 1918 to 1919 . Tuttle was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity and the Sphinx Head Society . Tuttle received an LL . B . from Cornell Law School in 1923 . He was a reporter for the " New York Evening World " for several years while attending law school . After graduating from law school , he moved to the capital city of Atlanta , Georgia , to practice law with the law firm of Sutherland , Tuttle & Brennan from 1923 to 1953 . ( The firm is today named Sutherland Asbill & Brennan . ) Tuttle mainly worked on tax litigation , but also did " pro bono " work and worked with the American Civil Liberties Union , including doing numerous civil rights cases . Tuttle served as a Colonel in the United States Army from 1941 to 1946 , in World War II , declining a desk job . He was severely injured after engaging in hand to hand combat in Okinawa on the island of Ie Shima . He was awarded numerous medals for his service including the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster , the Legion of Merit , the Bronze Star , and the Bronze Service Arrowhead . Tuttle retired as a Brigadier General and was often called " The General " by those who worked closely with him . After the War , Tuttle became more involved in politics , working with the Republican Party because of his opposition to segregation , which he associated mostly with southern Democrats . He was a general counsel for the United States Department of the Treasury from 1953 to 1954 . He was nominated on July 7 , 1954 , by U . S . President Dwight D . Eisenhower to a new Fifth Circuit seat created by 68 Stat . 871 ; he was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 3 , 1954 , and received commission the next day . Tuttle served as chief judge for seven years , then assumed senior status . In the aftermath of the disputed 1966 Georgia gubernatorial election between Democrat Lester Maddox and Republican Howard " Bo " Callaway , Tuttle joined Democratic Judge Griffin Bell , later the United States Attorney General , in striking down the Georgia constitutional provision requiring that the legislature chose the governor if no general election candidate receives a majority of the vote . The judges concluded that a malapportioned legislature might " dilute " the votes of the candidate with a plurality , in this case Callaway . Bell compared legislative selection to the former County Unit System , a kind of electoral college formerly used in Georgia to select the governor but invalidated by the U . S . Supreme Court . Bell and Tuttle granted a temporary suspension of their ruling to permit appeal to the U . S . Supreme Court and stipulated that the state could resolve the deadlock so long as the legislature not make the selection . In a five - to - two decision known as " Fortson v . Morris " , the high court struck down the Bell - Tuttle legal reasoning and directed the legislature to choose between Maddox and Callaway . Two liberal justices , William O . Douglas and Abe Fortas , had argued against legislative selection of the governor , but the court majority , led this time by Hugo Black took the strict constructionist line and cleared the path for Maddox ' s ultimate election . On October 1 , 1981 , Tuttle was transferred to the new Eleventh Circuit , and continued to serve as a senior judge until his death on June 23 , 1996 . The Elbert P . Tuttle U . S . Court of Appeals Building was named in his honor in 1989 . For his work in civil rights cases in the South , Tuttle received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981 . He has a star on Atlanta ' s International Civil Rights Walk of Fame .