Scott Key & Associates
  • Home
  • Practice Areas
    • Embedded Counsel
    • Appeals
    • Trial Litigation
  • Meet The Team
    • Scott Key
    • Kayci Timmons
    • Tori Bradley
    • Sam Kuperberg
  • Resources
    • Blogs
    • Podcasts
    • Upload Consultation Documents
    • FAQs
  • Contact
  • Call 678-610-6624
  • Menu Menu

Tag Archive for: Fulton Daily Report

The Atlanta Federal Courthouse Should Retain its Name as The Russell Building

December 10, 2015/by J. Scott Key

Lyndon_Johnson_and_Richard_Russell1I have read two editorials in the Fulton Daily Report in the last week or so. The first was written by a Federal Defender who believes that the building should not be named after former Georgia Senator Richard B. Russell because of his legacy in support of segregation. The second was a response by former Georgia Senator Max Cleland. He defended Senator Russell’s legacy and argued that we should not judge Senator Russell’s views by our more evolved views on segregation.

The Federal courthouse in Atlanta is one of many public works bearing the name of Richard B. Russell. A US Senate Office Building bears his name. Several dorms and other buildings at colleges in Georgia are named after him, as are several schools, roads, lakes, dams, and an airport. Senator Russell’s legacy is more than one of racism. His was a life of achievement and public service in several areas. I knew little about him until I read and became fascinated with Robert Caro’s volumes of biography about Lyndon Johnson. After finishing a book on Robert Moses, Caro has devoted his life and career to telling the story of LBJ. He’s still not finished. That story contains many biographies with the biography, Senator Russell’s being one of them. Caro tells the story of Senator Russell so well that I came away feeling a sense of connection to him. Many of my friends and colleagues who are fans of Caro came away with a similar feeling. Senator Russell created the school lunch program and was a saving figure in his leadership over the committee that investigated the firing of General Douglas MacArthur (the importance of what he did in that episode is beyond the scope of this post). He had a distinguished career in the Senate.  He was instrumental as a new dealer as a young governor of Georgia. To read Caro is to get a sense of the man. The Senate he dominated was a vibrant and strong institution. Personally, he was a life-long bachelor who never amassed great wealth in his years of public service. He also was a man of Georgia and carried proudly a family name with a  father who was also an accomplished public servant.

So, to the issue at hand, I actually disagree with the Federal Defender who advocates removing Senator Russell’s name from the Federal Building AND Senator Cleland. It is perfectly appropriate to judge Senator Russell for his stance on race and segregation. By any contemporary standard, Senator Russell’s views are shocking and disturbing. And even by the standards of his times, his views were out of touch with the majority. He was a master of the minutiae of Senate Rules — particularly the filibuster. And he used those rules, along with the Southern bloc of Senators, to defeat integration when the will of the majority of senators was to end it. He deserves to be judged for those actions. It is not enough to excuse such views as those of a “man of his times.” He was out of touch even with the time in which he lived on the issue of race. So, I disagree with Senator Cleland on his main argument.

However, I also disagree with the idea that his name should be removed from the Federal Building or any of the places that bear his name. He achieved much. His legacy as a Senator and a Georgian are worthy of remembrance into the future. Generations to come should know who he is and what he did. Those who might be prompted to learn who he is from seeing his name on buildings, schools, roads, lakes, and other public works should also come to learn of his racism and how he bent the rules of the Senate to block integration. To erase his name from the historical record is to deny even the chance of a discussion of who he was, for good or for bad. Georgia’s history, maybe even its present, is not the best on issues of race. But it is important to keep our historical figures in sight and in mind and even on the names of buildings, if for no other reason to learn about them and to engage in dialogue about them. There is a danger in the loss of dialogue about who we were — we lose sight of who we are and can be in the process.

0 0 J. Scott Key /wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.png J. Scott Key2015-12-10 16:58:222015-12-10 16:58:22The Atlanta Federal Courthouse Should Retain its Name as The Russell Building

Author of study of Georgia criminal justice system has died

June 16, 2011/by J. Scott Key

Alyson Palmer at the Fulton Daily Report has noted the passing of David C. Baldus. Mr. Baldus authored a study in 1986 showing that, in 2,000 murder cases in Georgia in the 1970s, defendants accused of killing white victims were more than four times as likely than defendants accused of killing black victims.

That study figured prominently in McClesky v. Kemp, a 5-4 decision in favor of Mr. McClesky’s conviction and death sentence. Justice Powell later noted that his vote in that case was the one he wished he could change.

The New York times also reports his passing.

0 0 J. Scott Key /wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.png J. Scott Key2011-06-16 17:48:332011-06-16 17:48:33Author of study of Georgia criminal justice system has died

Related Resources

  • Living a Fulfilling Life (as a Lawyer)
  • Originalist Textualism 101 for Practitioners with Keith Blackwell
  • What I’ve Read, Heard, And Am Pondering This Week: June 1
  • Textualism As An Advocacy Tool
  • What I’ve Read, Heard, And Am Pondering This Week: March 7
  • Embracing the Legal Fundamentals with William Maselli

Archives

  • October 2024
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • October 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • July 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • July 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • August 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • September 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010

ADDRESS

199 W Jefferson St.
Madison, GA 30650

PHONE

678-610-6624

EMAIL

tori@scottkeylaw.com
© Scott Key & Associates, all rights reserved. | Website by Madison Studios  
  • LinkedIn
  • Youtube
Scroll to top