U.S. Court of Appeals Reverses Expulsion of Alabama State Students

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August 8, 1961

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Press Releases, Loose Pages. U.S. Court of Appeals Reverses Expulsion of Alabama State Students, 1961. 71610ac4-bc92-ee11-be37-00224827e97b. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/3ccc23bb-e434-4c2e-9093-dbe277273b13/us-court-of-appeals-reverses-expulsion-of-alabama-state-students. Accessed November 23, 2025.

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    PRESS RELEASE ® @ 

NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND 
10 COLUMBUS CIRCLE «+ NEW YORK 19,N.Y. © JUdson 6-8397 

DR. ALLAN KNIGHT CHALMERS Oa 
President 

THURGOOD MARSHALL 
Director-Counsel 

U. S. COURT OF APPEALS REVERSES 
EXPULSION OF ALABAMA STATE STUDENTS 

August 8, 1961 

NEW YORK - The U. S. Court of Appeals this week reversed an 

Alabama Federal District Court which had upheld the controversial 

expulsion of nine Alabama State College Negro students for participat- 

ing in "sit-ins" in February, 1960. 

The Fifth Circuit Court, sitting in New Orleans, La., ruled that 

"due process requires notice and some opportunity for hearing before 

students of a tax-supported college are expelled for misconduct." 

"An extremely imoortant decision," commented Jack Greenberg, NAACr 

Legal Defense Fund counsel, who argued the case for the students. "This 

case firmly establishes that there must be adequate hearing before 

expulsion of a student from a state college for misconduct." 

The students were expelled in March, 1960, for "sitting-in" at th 

Montgomery Courthouse lunchroom in February, 1960, and for further 

demonstrations after the "sit-in." They were not tried or convicted 

by an Alabama state court for "sitting-in." 

Nine of the students, including leaders Bernard Lee of Norfolk, 

Va., St. John Dixon of National City, Calif., and Edward E. Jones of 

Pittsburgh, Pa., received a letter from Alabama State President 

H. Councill Trenholm on March 5, 1960, in which he stated that the 

students were expelled on orders from the State Board of Education. 

The expelled students then sued the State Board in the U. S. 

District Court, charging that they had no notice of expulsion nor 

opportunity to defend themselves. The District Court upheld the Board, 

but in last week's Court of Appeals decision, the Court ruled that the 

students should be given the names of witnesses who testified against 

them, a report of their testimony, and an opportunity to present their 

side of the picture to the Board, including witnesses and written 

affidavits in their behalf. 

NAACP Legal Defense Fund attorneys for the students were Fred 

Gray of Montgomery, Ala.; Thurgood Marshall, Jack Greenberg and Derric 

A. Bell, of New York City. = 3075

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U.S. Court of Appeals Reverses Expulsion of Alabama State Students

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