Berks County Bar Association The Berks Barrister Spring 2018 - 18

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An "Evangelist" of the Fourteenth
Continued from page 17
is well known, but less known is a lesson Marshall gave members
of his legal team, a lesson that is just as relevant today.
Before the High Court, South Carolina was being represented
by a southern gentleman, seventy-nine-year old John W. Davis, a
former congressman, U. S. solicitor general, Democratic candidate
in the past for president and a former president of the American
Bar Association. It was to be his 140th appearance before the
Court. Several days before the argument, the forty-four-yearold Marshall had lunch with Davis. Marshall's team was aghast
that he would dine with "the enemy." Marshall explained, "We're
both attorneys, we're both civil. It's very important to have a civil
relationship with your opponent." 35 Still good advice.

Final Steps to the High Court

handcuffed men out of the car, and shot both of them, thinking
they were dead. However, one survived by remaining still until
witnesses came.
The survivor was re-tried with Thurgood Marshall representing
him, but he was again sentenced to death. Marshall did not give
up; he convinced the Florida Governor to commute his sentence
and in 1968 he was released from prison for a crime he never
committed.

A Lesson in Lawyer Civility
A recitation of Marshall's record would not be complete
without reference to Brown v. Board of Education, a group of five
cases joined for the appeal before the Supreme Court. Marshall
had tried the one case that was against the state of South Carolina.
After the trial verdict came down and Marshall had lost, opposing
counsel shouted at him, "If you ever show your black ass in
Clarendon County again you'll be dead."34
The result of the appeals to the United States Supreme Court

Marshall's trial career came to an end in 1961 when he was
sworn in as a judge on the United States Second Circuit Court of
Appeals. Four years later, upon nomination by President Lyndon
B. Johnson, Marshall was confirmed to serve as U.S. Solicitor
General. Once again, he was arguing cases before the Supreme
Court.
Then, on June 12, 1967, President Johnson, one who "believed
in civil rights," nominated the first black person to serve on the
Supreme Court, but confirmation would not be easy. The process
is dramatically detailed, with flashbacks on his career, in Wil
Haygood's book, Showdown.
Marshall had to first go before the Senate Judiciary
Committee, chaired by Senator James Eastland of Mississippi. Of
the sixteen committee members, seven were southerners. Senator
Joseph Tydings of Maryland recalled later that, "Marshall was
considered a public enemy of the South."36
Initially, the chair delayed the start of the hearings for a month.
The questioning of Marshall extended over five days, the last
being July 24. Such lengthy interrogation of a Supreme Court
nominee was unprecedented. The committee did not vote on the
nomination until August 11, and it passed with only southern
senators voting against Marshall.
Then, it was not until August 30 that the full Senate took up
the nomination. Finally, after a lengthy debate, history was made
with Thurgood Marshall being confirmed by a vote of 69 to 11.

34
35
36

18 | Berks Barrister

Williams, p. 203.
Id. 215.

Haygood, p. 19.

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Berks County Bar Association The Berks Barrister Spring 2018

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