Editing Fifth Circuit Four

{{Short description|Group of American judges}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}

The "'''Fifth Circuit Four'''" (or simply "'''The Four'''") were four judges of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit]] who, during the late 1950s, became known for a series of decisions (which continued into the late 1960s) crucial in advancing the [[civil and political rights]] of [[African American]]s.

== History ==
In their most famous cases, they were opposed by fellow Fifth Circuit judge [[Benjamin Franklin Cameron|Ben Cameron]], an avowed [[White supremacy|white supremacist]]. At that time, the Fifth Circuit included not only [[Louisiana]], [[Mississippi]], and [[Texas]] (the limits of its jurisdiction since October 1, 1981), but also [[Alabama]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[Florida]], and the [[Panama Canal Zone]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Bass |first=Jack |date=2004-04-15 |title=The 'Fifth Circuit Four' |language=en-US |work=The Nation |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/fifth-circuit-four/ |access-date=2023-04-13 |issn=0027-8378}}</ref> 

"The Four" were [[Richard Rives|Richard T. Rives]], [[Elbert Tuttle|Elbert Parr Tuttle]] (who served as Chief Judge from 1960-67), [[John Robert Brown (judge)|John R. Brown]] (who succeeded Tuttle as Chief Judge), and [[John Minor Wisdom]]. All but Rives were [[political liberalism|liberal]] [[United States Republican Party|Republicans]]; Rives was a [[United States Democratic Party|Democrat]] and friend of [[United States Supreme Court|Supreme Court]] justice [[Hugo Black]].<ref name=":0" />

The jurisprudence of the group led to expansion of the rights granted in ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'' to other areas of society, such as employment, integration, and voting rights.<ref name=":0" /> Since Brown did not specify the mechanisms for desegregation, it was crucial that lower federal courts such as the Fifth Circuit expanded civil rights law. In several court cases, such as ''[[Louisiana v. United States (1965)|Louisiana v. United States]]'', the court struck down "race neutral" laws that functionally denied African Americans their rights due to unequal application. In response, the judges faced major backlash from their communities, who were largely against integration and civil rights for African Americans. The judges received many phone threats and had their personal property destroyed or vandalized.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Grinstein |first=Max |date=2020 |title=The Fifth Circuit Four: The Unheralded Judges Who Helped to Break Legal Barriers in the Deep South |url=https://www.societyforhistoryeducation.org/pdfs/N20_Grinstein.pdf |journal=Society for History Education}}</ref>

==Quote==
<blockquote>"The [[United States Constitution|Constitution]] is both color blind and color conscious. To avoid conflict with the [[Equal Protection Clause|equal protection clause]], a classification that denies a benefit, causes harm, or imposes a burden must not be based on [[Race (classification of human beings)|race]]. In that sense the Constitution is color blind. But the Constitution is color conscious to prevent [[Racism#Racial discrimination|discrimination]] being perpetuated and to undo the effects of past discrimination. The criterion is the relevancy of color to a legitimate government purpose."

—Judge John Minor Wisdom, writing for the majority in ''United States v. Jefferson County Board of Education'', 1966.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Circuit |first=United States Court of Appeals Fifth |date=1966-12-29 |title=372 F2d 836 United States v. Jefferson County Board of Education |url=https://openjurist.org/372/f2d/836/united-states-v-jefferson-county-board-of-education |journal=Open Jurist |language=English |volume=F2d |issue=372 |pages=836}}</ref></blockquote>

==See also==
*[[Frank Minis Johnson]] – a [[United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama|U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Alabama]] whose rulings had a strong impact on civil rights in the American South.
*[[J. Skelly Wright]] - Judge of the [[United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana]], and then of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Civil rights movement}}

[[Category:History of African-American civil rights]]
[[Category:Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit]]
[[Category:Quartets]]
[[Category:United States racial discrimination case law]]
[[Category:20th-century American judges]]


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