April 2025 - Did you receive a postcard from the Middle District of Alabama? The Court is currently in the process of updating our listing and that process includes the sending of a postcard to persons randomly selected from the list of registered voters. If you received a card, it is not a scam Read more
From New England to the New South: Reflections on America’s Courtroom
Image
On a warm October afternoon, over one hundred judges from New England and beyond visited the Frank M. Johnson U.S. District Courthouse. Judges from the First Circuit Court of Appeals, as well as their federal and state court colleagues traveled from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and even California and Puerto Rico to visit historic sites in Montgomery and Selma.
Chief U.S. District Judge Emily Marks welcomed the guests to a program entitled “Reflections on America’s Courtroom”. In the very courtroom where Judge Frank M. Johnson presided, guests were treated to a panel discussion entitled “If These Walls Could Talk” which humanized Judge Frank Johnson, Judge Myron Thompson and the cases that had been tried in the historic space. The panelists included attorneys Jere Beasley of Montgomery, and Peter Canfield, of Atlanta, Georgia, as well as the Magistrate Judge Rusty Johnson of the Northern District of Alabama. The panel was moderated by William Brewbaker, Dean of the University of Alabama School of Law.
United States District Judge Myron Thompson delivered the keynote address which was as humorous as it was compelling. He shared revealing stories about his own experience on the bench, and as a member of the bar. Judge Thompson offered reflections on Judge Johnson and other celebrated jurists that cannot be found in any book. He provided a window, not only into the history that happened where they stood, but also a compelling discussion of how that history impacts our modern world.
Chief Circuit Judge David J. Barron of the First Circuit Court of Appeals summed of the experience at the end of the program. He shared the word “dayenu” which in his Jewish faith means “it would have been enough”. He expressed his gratitude on behalf of the guests and said, “This would have been enough.”
The jurists left full, fed both literally and figuratively. They enjoyed the food, hospitality, and warmth for which the South is known, including chicken pulley bones, French green beans, sweet potato casserole, wild rice, pecan pie, and sweet tea.
A story about the visit entitled “A Hundred Yankee Judges Visit Historic Frank M. Johnson’s Alabama Court” was featured in The Atlanta Lawyer, the official publication of the Atlanta Bar Association. See the article on page 10.