United States of America vs. Theron C. Lynd, Registrar of Voters for Forrest County, Mississippi - Legal case

The collection is arranged for the most part by subject, but cannot be clearly divided into separate series. The original arrangement dictated by Mr. Roberts was preserved as much as possible.

Due to the legal complexity of this collection, an overview of the federal court structure and the definition of a few legal terms will aid the researcher greatly. First, the Lynd case primarily involves federal legislation passed by the United States Congress and touches very little on matters concerning Mississippi law. This means that litigation took place in the federal court system, and not in the Mississippi court system. The federal system is divided into three main tiers consisting of the District Court, the Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. The District Court is where the actual trial in the case takes place. The parties involved in the suit at the trial level are referred to as the plaintiff and defendant. The loser in the District Court has the option of appealing to one of the thirteen Circuit Courts of Appeal. The Lynd case was appealed to the Fifth Circuit. On appeal, the winner from the trial court is called the appellee or respondent, while the loser is called the appellant, and is the party making the appeal. If the loser at the appellate level is not satisfied with the Circuit Court's ruling, he/she has the option of filing a writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court. A writ of certiorari is a request made by the appellant to have the Supreme Court hear the case, which can be in the form of either written briefs, oral arguments, or both. If the Supreme Court denies certiorari then the Circuit Court's decision is upheld without question. If the Supreme Court grants certiorari and hears the case, then the Court may either uphold or overrule the Circuit Court's decision. The decision made by the United States Supreme Court is final.

While this collection cannot be clearly divided into distinct series, there are several general groupings of material. Boxes 1 and 2 deal mostly with the case at the District Court level, while Boxes 3 through 11 cover the activities which took place in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The vast majority of documents in the collection are motions made by either Lynd's attorney's or the Justice Department. Other pertinent materials include transcripts of proceedings, correspondence and orders rendered by the District and Circuit courts.

Box 1 contains cases from other parts of the country that deal with voter discrimination. These cases originated in the states of Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana, as well as other counties in the state of Mississippi. The constitutionality of Title III, Civil Rights Act of 1957 and 1960, relating to the inspection, reproduction and photocopying of records, is the main issue addressed in these cases. The District Court judges in these cases consistently upheld the validity of Title III. Box 1 also includes a direct examination of Theron Lynd at a hearing held in Hattiesburg, and a photocopy of the Service of Notice to Produce Records for Inspection, Reproduction and Photocopying delivered to Lynd.

Box 2 contains materials relating to the Lynd case which took place at the district court level. These documents include the Justice Department's amended complaint, notes made by M.M. Roberts, a motion by the defense for An Extension of Time in Which to Plead, a copy of the judge's Order Granting an Extension of Time in Which to Plead or Defend the Law Suit, a motion for a More Definite Statement, a copy of the injunction against Theron Lynd to temporarily stop voter discrimination and a notice of Motion and Motion for Production of Records, Documents and Papers Under Rule 34 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Other miscellaneous items in this box include a "Washington Report" from Mississippi's representative to the United States Senate, John Stennis, and a copy of the court order regarding Rule 34 against Lynd and A.L. Ramsey, Registrar of Clarke County, Mississippi

Box 3 contains documents dealing with the activities which took place in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. These materials include copies of the writ of certiorari filed with the Fifth Circuit, briefs filed by Lynd's attorneys and the Justice Department, a petition for rehearing, a notice of appeal, a motion for an injunction, and a court reporter's transcript of proceedings that took place before the court. This box also includes extensive memoranda relating to various points of law concerning both procedure and the merits of the Lynd case. These memos discuss the federal court's jurisdictional authority, the power of a district court judge to grant a defendant immunity from criminal contempt charges, support for a preliminary injunction and the guidelines to be followed by appellate courts in cases involving contempt. In addition, Box 3 contains The Ruling of the District Court on March 5, 1962, concerning immunity from prosecution, a notice of taking oral deposition and an order by the trial court to require Lynd to allow the government to inspect and copy certain records.

Box 4 is a continuation of the materials relating to activities before the Fifth Circuit. These include a Notice of Application to Show Cause, an official copy of the Justice Department's brief, the opinion rendered by the court, the Fifth Circuit's ruling on a Motion for an Injunction Pending Appeal and an order by the Fifth Circuit enjoining Lynd from engaging in discriminatory practices against blacks. In addition, this box includes notes by M.M. Roberts, a newspaper article by Theron Lynd dated April 16, 1962, and the Plaintiff's Proposed Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Decree. However, the most important part of this box is an eight part notebook concerning illegal voter registration by Theron Lynd. The Justice Department compiled this notebook in an attempt to demonstrate that Lynd did engage in voter discrimination.

Box 5 contains materials that deal primarily with a series of motions filed on behalf of the defendant. These motions are the Motion to Quash, a Motion for a More Definite Statement, a Motion For an Extension of Time Within Which to Plead, a Motion by Lynd to Dismiss, a Motion to the Plaintiff to Vacate Order of the District Court, a Motion to Amend the Petition for Prosecution, a Motion for Production for Discovery and Production of Documents and a Motion by Defendant to Exclude Testimony Offered by the Government. Contained in folder 13 is the court's order regarding these motions. The other important portion of this box is a two part demonstrative notebook filed on behalf of the Plaintiffs. This notebook consists of statistics and illustrations that demonstrate the discriminatory grading contained in the application forms taken at Lynd's office.

Box 6 addresses a number of issues related to the case. Among the most important items in this box are cases dealing with self-incrimination, memoranda addressing the question of immunity and criminal contempt charges, a motion by the defense to Quash a Writ of Subpoena Duces Tecum requiring Lynd to appear incourt with his records and testify, and a copy of the Petitioner's Proposed Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Judgments and Orders. Additional items of significance include folders on matters relating to the Mississippi Constitution and Mississippi statutes as well as constitutional provisions concerning voter registration in Mississippi. Box 6 also contains a list of the persons interviewed by the F.B.I. in the process of investigating Lynd's office as well as a copy of the brief filed by the appellee before the Fifth Circuit and a copy of the oral arguments made before the court.

Box 7 contains a Petition for Rehearing Before the Full Court, asking all nine members of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to hear the case with the hope of reversing the regular three judge panel. Also in this box are an application for registration for Forrest County, Mississippi, and examples of what the Justice Department claims are evidence of Lynd's discriminatory grading practices. The last item in the box is a copy of the second writ of certiorari filed with the United States Supreme Court, which was subsequently denied.

Box 8 contains Forms of Rejected Negroes Who the Justice Department Claims Should Be Registered. This book lists the names of people who attempted to register but were denied because they failed to pass the voter examination. The book is a key piece of evidence in the Justice Department's argument. Box 8 also contains a list of the applicants, both black and white, who registered to vote, as well as a Motion to Stay Proceedings or to Remand Same to the United States District Court, a Notice of Request and Request to Admit Truth of Facts Under Rule 36, a Petition For Further Orders to Secure Compliance with and to Prevent Obstruction of the Judgment and Orders of the Circuit Court of Appeals. An additional document worth noting is an opinion by federal Circuit Judge Ben Cameron upholding the validity of various Mississippi registration statutes.

The only significant document in Box 9 is a two volume Record On Appeal filed in the Fifth Circuit Court. The record is one of the largest documents in the collection and is a typed transcript of the oral arguments that took place during the hearing.

Box 10 contains a variety of materials dating between 1962 and 1965. Some of the files in this box include affidavits, a Petition for Rehearing filed by Lynd, the District Court's order for an extension of time for filing the record on appeal and docketing the appeal, the Brief of the Respondents, a statement by Lynd regarding the litigation, a Notice of Appeal and Judgement, a report filed by Lynd certifying compliance with the Court's order, and a copy of Judge Harold Cox's order issuing a permanent injunction against Lynd. Box 10 also contains the Opinion Rendered by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, a Judgment and Order for Civil Contempt and a group of charcoal sketches made during the Lynd trial.

Box 11 is a continuation of the documents in box 10, and focuses primarily on the activities by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. These documents include the Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law in the Proceeding for Civil Contempt, an Order on the Proceedings in Criminal Contempt, the Judgment and Mandate, as well as the Order relating to Civil Contempt. The single largest portion of this box is seven folders of correspondence between M.M. Roberts and Francis Zachary, Theron Lynd, John Doar of the Mississippi Attorney General's office and a number of other different attorneys, particularly those in the Justice Department in Washington, D.C.