Legal Defense Fund Intervenes on Behalf of 4,000 Watts Rioters

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

NAACP 

Legal ee and Educational Fund 
PRESS RELEASE 

“President 
: 

Dr. Allan Knight Chalmers ie eee a 
aYs 

Director-Counse 

a jack Gresabery October 8, 1965 

LEGAL DEFENSE FUND INTERVENES IN 
BEHALF OF 4,000 WATTS RIOTERS 

Suit Filed Against Three Courts and 21 Judges 

LOS ANGELES---The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund today 

filed suit in California's Supreme Court in behalf of more’ than 

4,000 persons arrested during the recent Watts riots. 

The suit names three Los Angeles courts---the Municipal, 

Juvenile, and the Superior Courts, along with 21 Los Angekes judges. 

All are charged with neglecting their responsibility to inform 

the Negroes of the charges against them, to inquire as fo whether 

they could afford legal counsel and to appoint counsel when needed. 

Negro petitioners named in this suit, and others interviewed, 

asserted that they had no legal representation at theiz initial 

arraignments and the District Attorney argued that pail be; set at 

three times the regular $1,000. 

Meanwhile, in New York City, Jack Greenberg, director-counsel 

of the Legal Defense Fund explained that"this suit dies not seek to 

represent people guilty of crime." 

But, "there is no doubt that an indeterminate number of Watts 

defendants are innocent of charges placed against them, and will 

not receive the kind of representation which the U.S. Constitution 

guarantees to all defendants, rich or poor, Negro or white, 

innocent or guilty." 

Two Negro petitioners, both young mothers (one of four, the 

other of six) remained in jail until their preliminary hearings, 

although neither had prior convictions. 

The civil rights attorneys argue that if the courts had 

inquired as to the background of these women, both would have been 

released on their own recognizance, as they later were after 

their preliminary hearings. 

(more) 

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



Legal Defense Fund Intervenes In-2- 
Behalf of 4,000 Watts Rioters 

More specifically, the suit states that the judicial 

officials cited “have failed and refused to appoint private 

counsel not associated with the Public Defender's office." 

It was noted that the Public Defender's staff had not beens 

expanded sufficiently to "give adequate time for preparation ani ¥ 

investigation to defend petitioners." hae s 

The suit further asserts that "none of the petitionses has 

been continuously represented by one Public Defender through 

successive proceedings, resulting in each Public Defender having 

to freshly acquaint himself with the cases." 

Moreover, “the Public Defender's office has never been 

required to handle over 4,000 defendants with multiple charges 

during a six week period such as occurred after the riots began. 

Legal Defense Fund Assistant Counsel Leroy Clark, joined by | 
aed 

local NAACP attorneys Raymond L, Johnson and Herman T. Smith, 

pointed out that lists of attorneys willing to represent indigent 

persons were given to judicial officials cited in the sui 

However, the officials still failed to appoint private lawyers 

from this list in sufficient number to relieve the over-extended 

case load of the Public Defender's office. re 

The Legal Defense Fund, which entered the case upon request 

of the local NAACP chapter, filed the case in California's Supreme 

Court rather than a lower court "because it is a mathesvor grave 

public importance and raises serious questions of constitutionality 

and authority of respondent officials to continue with criminal 

prosecutions of over 4,000 persons," according to Mr, Clark. 

The civil rights attorneys ask that the courts: 

1. appoint lawyers with adequate preparation, investigation 

and counseling before conducting further proceedings 

2. nullify any prior proceedings in which petitioners or 

members of their class, after securing adequate counsel, 

can demonstrate that they were disadvantaged by lack of 

counsel 

3. furnish petitioners with names of private counsel if the 

Public Defender's office is found to have an inordinate 

case load (and to pay such attorneys) (more) 



Legal Defense Fund Intervenes In-3- 
Behalf of 4,000 Watts Rioters 

And, in the alternative, the civil rights lawyers ask that 

the cited courts be enjoined from taking further proceedings until 

there is a hearing. 

-30- 

EDITOR'S NOTE: *Complete text of Mr. Greenberg's statement is 
rF attached, 

*"The "NAACP Legal Defense Fund" is not ithe NAACP, 
The two were separated in 1939 and now-function 
in close cooperation as two separate entities,