Preston P. Coleman, Circuit Clerk and Registrar of Lauderdale County, Mississippi v. Robert F. Kennedy, Attorney General of the United States

Fifth Circuit

Preston P. Coleman, Circuit Clerk and Registrar of Lauderdale County, Mississippi v. Robert F. Kennedy, Attorney General of the United States

313 F.2d 867

CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

DecidedMarch 15, 1963

Docket20102_1

StatusPublished

Cited by11 cases

This text of 313 F.2d 867 (Preston P. Coleman, Circuit Clerk and Registrar of Lauderdale County, Mississippi v. Robert F. Kennedy, Attorney General of the United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Preston P. Coleman, Circuit Clerk and Registrar of Lauderdale County, Mississippi v. Robert F. Kennedy, Attorney General of the United States, 313 F.2d 867 (5th Cir. 1963).

Pincite

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

In an able opinion compelling production pursuant to the application of the *868 Attorney General for inspection of the registration and voting records in the custody of the Registrars of Lauderdale, Madison, and Hinds Counties, Mississippi, the district court correctly observed:

“The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has settled all questions in this case in Kennedy, Attorney General of the United States v. Lynd, Registrar of Elections of Forrest County, 5 Cir., 306 F.2d 222; United States v. Lynd, 5 Cir., 301 F.2d 818; Dinkins v. Attorney General of United States, 5 Cir., 285 F.2d 430; Kennedy v. Bruce, 5 Cir., 298 F.2d 860.”

In re Coleman, S.D.Miss., 1962, 208 F. Supp. 199, 200.

Our construction in Kennedy v. Lynd, supra, 306 F.2d at 226, of the requirement of 42 U.S.C.A. § 1974b that the demand for voting records “contain [s] a statement of the basis and the purpose therefor” is supported by legislative history. Without collecting or citing more of that history, we quote from Senator Keating, one of the principal spokesmen for the bill in the Senate (106 Cong.Rec. 7767):

“The language added by the House Judiciary Committee in section 303 that the Attorney General’s demand ‘contain a statement of the basis and the purpose therefor’ means only that the Attorney General identify in a general way the reasons for his demand. Clearly a sufficient statement would be the assertion that the demand was made for the purpose of investigating possible violations of a Federal statute. No showing even of a prima facie case of a violation of Federal law need be made. Mr. President, I believe that a majority of the Senate shares my understanding of the meaning of these provisions, but I thought it was important to make the record on this point abundantly clear.”

The present appeals are totally without merit, and the judgments are

Affirmed

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

PER CURIAM.

In an able opinion compelling production pursuant to the application of the *868 Attorney General for inspection of the registration and voting records in the custody of the Registrars of Lauderdale, Madison, and Hinds Counties, Mississippi, the district court correctly observed:

“The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has settled all questions in this case in Kennedy, Attorney General of the United States v. Lynd, Registrar of Elections of Forrest County, 5 Cir., 306 F.2d 222; United States v. Lynd, 5 Cir., 301 F.2d 818; Dinkins v. Attorney General of United States, 5 Cir., 285 F.2d 430; Kennedy v. Bruce, 5 Cir., 298 F.2d 860.”

In re Coleman, S.D.Miss., 1962, 208 F. Supp. 199, 200.

Our construction in Kennedy v. Lynd, supra, 306 F.2d at 226, of the requirement of 42 U.S.C.A. § 1974b that the demand for voting records “contain [s] a statement of the basis and the purpose therefor” is supported by legislative history. Without collecting or citing more of that history, we quote from Senator Keating, one of the principal spokesmen for the bill in the Senate (106 Cong.Rec. 7767):

“The language added by the House Judiciary Committee in section 303 that the Attorney General’s demand ‘contain a statement of the basis and the purpose therefor’ means only that the Attorney General identify in a general way the reasons for his demand. Clearly a sufficient statement would be the assertion that the demand was made for the purpose of investigating possible violations of a Federal statute. No showing even of a prima facie case of a violation of Federal law need be made. Mr. President, I believe that a majority of the Senate shares my understanding of the meaning of these provisions, but I thought it was important to make the record on this point abundantly clear.”

The present appeals are totally without merit, and the judgments are

Affirmed

Nicholas De B. Katzenbach, Attorney General of the United States v. Henry B. McClellan Circuit Court Clerk and Registrar of Holmes County, Mississippi, Henry B. McClellan Circuit Court Clerk and Registrar of Holmes County, Mississippi v. Nicholas De B. Katzenbach, Attorney General of the United States

341 F.2d 922 (Fifth Circuit, 1965)

Katzenbach v. McClellan

341 F.2d 922 (Fifth Circuit, 1965)

United States v. State of Mississippi

229 F. Supp. 925 (S.D. Mississippi, 1964)

United States v. Theron C. Lynd, Circuit Court Clerk and Registrar, Forrest County, Mississippi, and State of Mississippi

321 F.2d 26 (Fifth Circuit, 1963)

Armstrong v. Board of Education of Birmingham

323 F.2d 333 (Fifth Circuit, 1963)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)

313 F.2d 867, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/preston-p-coleman-circuit-clerk-and-registrar-of-lauderdale-county-ca5-1963.

Opinion

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack