Rights Attorneys Seek End of GA. Insurrection Charge

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Seek to End Ga. Insurrection Charges Against SCLC and SCC Workers

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- Press Releases
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- f88ea278-b592-ee11-be37-00224827e97b

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Press Releases, Volume 2. Rights Attorneys Seek End of GA. Insurrection Charge, 1964. f88ea278-b592-ee11-be37-00224827e97b. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/11488763-6265-4ee5-9e2f-a367629b0320/rights-attorneys-seek-end-of-ga-insurrection-charge. Accessed December 06, 2025.

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    10 Columbus Circle 
New York, N.Y. 10019 
JUdson 6-8397 

Legal Defense and Educational Fund 
PRESS RELEASE 
President 
‘ Dr. se Knight Chalmers conn tee 
igen cere 
Jack Greenberg Tuesday 

Assoctana Conrinah November 24, 1964 
Constance Baker Motley 

"RIGHTS ATTORNEYS SEEK END 
OF GA. INSURRECTION CHARGE 

SCLC And "SNICK" Staff Members Defended 

ALBANY, Ga,---NAACP Legal Defense Fund attorneys today asked a three- 
judge Federal Court here to stop the “insurrection" prosecutions of 
two Civil Rights leaders in this strife-torn Southwest Georgia city. 

The Legal Defense Fund brief was submitted in behalf of Rev. 
Samuel Wells of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and 
Donald Harris, a field secretary of the Student Non-Violent Coor- 
dinating Committee. 

Rev. Wells was arrested last August 18. 

Both Wells and Harris were charged with circulating insurrec- 
tionary papers, and Wells was further charged with attempting to 
incite “insurrection," a capital offense under Georgia law. 

Legal Defense Fund lawyers last year defended Harris and three 
other Civil Rights workers charged with insurrection. At that time, 
the insurrection statute was held unconstitutional. 

Albany Police Chief, Laurie Pritchett, however, said at a 
hearing that that ruling made no difference to him. 

These recent arrests came three days after a Negro was shot 
and killed by an Albany policeman. Handbills were distributed by 
the Albany Movement announcing a meeting to decide what form a pro- 
test should take. After the August 15 meeting, Wells led a group of 
about 16 people toward the police station. 

As they were peacefully walking, they were showered with bricks 
and bottles. Theysubsequently presented a written petition to the 
police. Although they signed the petition, Harris and Wells were 
not observed passing out handbills. 

Legal Defense Fund attorneys filed a removal petition asking 
the Federal District Court to take jurisdiction on August 22. When 
this was denied, they sought an injunction to stop the prosecutions 
on September 15. At that time they also asked that reasonable bail 
be set, and that no further arrests be made for voter registration 
activities. 

On October 15, trial was held before a special three-judge 
court consisting of 5th Circuit Justice Griffin B. Bell, and District 
Judges J. Robert Elliott and William A. Bootle. The Court requested 
the papers filed today by the Legal Defense Fund. 

Legal Defense Fund attorneys pointed out that the Georgia 
insurrection statute was first held unconstitutional by the VU. S, 
Supreme Court in 1937, and that this opinion was reaffirmed last 
year, They charged that it violated freedom of speech, and is so 
vague as to delineate no reasonable standards of guilt. 

Handling the case for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund are C.B. King 
of Albany, and Director-Counsel Jack Greenberg, Charles H. Jones, Jr., 
and Charles S. Ralston of New York. 

=30= 

Jesse DeVore, Jr., Director of Public Information—Night Number 212 Riverside 9-8487 >

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Rights Attorneys Seek End of GA. Insurrection Charge

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