Court of Appeals to Heart Argument on Admission of Negro to University of Mississippi

    PRESS RELEASE 

NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND 
I1OCOLUMBUS CIRCLE «© NEWYORK19,N.Y. ¢ JUdson 6-8397 

DR. ALLAN KNIGHT CHALMERS JACK GREENBERG CONSTANCE BAKER MOTLEY 
President General Counsel Associate Counsel 

Ss 

COURT OF APPEALS TO HEAR ARGUMENT ON 
ADMISSION OF NEGRO TO UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI 

January 3, 1962 

NEW YORK - The U. S, Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit will hear 

argument this week on the denial of a motion for preliminary injunc- 

tion which, if granted, would allow the first Negro student to enter 

the University of Mississippi next month. 

The hearing, scheduled for January 9 in New Orleans, La., is on 

an appeal by James Howard Meredith, a Jackson State Collece stuJent 

who has been trying to transfer to the University since last Spring. 

The Court of Appeals granted last month a request by Meredith's 

attorneys asking that the hearing be scheduled on the earliest possi- 

ble date. The speeding up of a hearing of this type is considered 

extremely unusual. 

Meredith's suit, filed May 31, 1961, by NAACP Legal Defense and~ 

Educational Fund attorneys against the University, had sought to have 

him enter the 1961 summer session at the University. His motion was 

denied by District Judge Sidney Mize on December 14, after numerous 

delays and postponements. 

There has, as yet, been no desegregation of Mississippi schools 

on any level. 

The University Registrar testified that Meredith's application 

was denicd last spring because he could not comply with the require- 

ment of five recommendations from University alumni, and because the 

all-Negro Jackson State College is not a member of the Southern Asso- 

ciation of Colleges and Secondary Schools. 

Judge Mize, accepting the Registrar's explanation, ruled that 

"the plaintiff [Meredith] was not denied admission because of his 

color or race,” but for other reasons. 

In taking appeal to the higher court, Legal Defense Fund attor- 

neys are expected to argue that the alumni certificate requirement is 



aes 

unconstitutional because there are no Negro alumni of the "University, 

and that the refusal to accept Meredith's transfer from Jackson State 

College is a violation of the Constitution's Equal Protecticn Clause. 

The Defense Fund brief points out that Meredith has eaned credits 

from other institutions of higher learning which would be acceptable 

if he were white. 

If the Court of Appeals grants the temporary injunction, 

Mercdith will be able to attend the University's second semester 

beginning February 6. 

NAACP Legal Defense Fund attorneys representing Meredith are 

R. Jess Brown of Vicksburg, Miss.; Constance Baker Motley, Jack 

Greenberg and Derrick Bell of New York City. 

SEES