Johnson, Thomas 1998-10-30
Thomas Johnson discusses his work as an attorney for several Lubbock Independent School District civil rights cases.
General Interview Information
Interviewee Name: Thomas Johnson
Additional Parties Recorded:
Date: October 30, 1998
Location: Lubbock, Texas
Interviewer: Fred Allison
Length: 1 hour, 35 minutes
Abstract
Tape 1, Side 1: Thomas Johnson
Born: Danville, Illinois (1939)
Raised in Indiana
Father: a physician
Indiana University
Was encouraged to attend law school because his best
friend/fraternity brother attended law school
University of Texas Law School (1963-1966)
Lubbock, Texas
Moved there after law school and began his practice
Army (1961-1963)
Reserves during Vietnam conflict
Fortunate not to have been called
University of Texas Law School (again)
Lubbock (again)
Practicing law in Lubbock since 1966
University of Texas Law School (again)
Training
Study of law
Lubbock (again)
Reasons for choosing Lubbock
Weather
Law Practice: McWhorter, Cobb and Johnson
Lubbock Bar Association
Good Lawyers
Charles Cobb
Tried lawsuits
Litigation since 1977
Lubbock Independent School District (LISD)
A client of McWhorter, Cobb and Johnson
Very little litigation up until the 1970s
Lawsuits against LISD
Civil rights
Student rights
Desegregation
Equal access
Desegregation
Reasons for desegregation
Hal Woodward (1970)
Federal district court judge
Phases of litigation (1977)
Deliberate segregation by LISD
Precedence in cases
Busing
CASS’s intervention neighborhood organization
Magnet schools
Tool to help desegregation,
Approved in 1978,
CASS (again),
Hal Woodward (again),
Magnet schools (again),
Lubbock School Board and the School Administration,
Changes due to litigation of desegregation,
Lubbock (again),
Busing,
School closings,
Achieve desegregation,
Too small to keep open,
LISD’s position.
Tape 1, Side 2: LISD position (continued),
Neighborhood school policy,
No intentional segregation,
Neighborhood school policy (again),
Struck down in the South,
Many landmark cases helped strike this defense,
Federal Government sued the school district not the city,
Unitary Status and LISD,
Lubbock (again),
Emotions of the citizens,
Social issues involved with the desegregation case,
School closings (again),
Carroll Thompson Junior High,
Lubbock and desegregation attempts,
William Bradford Reynolds,
Assistant U. S. Attorney General for Civil Rights,
Opinions,
Declaration of the Unitary Status,
Presidential administrations,
Opinions,
Lines of Authority with civil rights case,
Justice Department files suit for the government,
Hal Woodward (again),
Non-partial judge,
Filed in 1970, dismissed in 1991,
Longest litigation in this part of the country,
Equal access case,
School prayer in regards to LISD (1979),
Lubbock Civil Liberties Union filed suit in the,
federal district court,
Claim: school prayer violates First Amendment.
Tape 2, Side 1: Equal access case (continued),
1981-1982: court reversed Woodward’s decision
found school prayer is unconstitutional,
Lubbock ACLU v LISD,
Petitioned the U. S. Supreme Court,
Leon Jaworsky,
U. S. Supreme Court,
Decided not to go through with the case,
The U. S. Supreme Court took a case similar to the
LISD case; found it constitutional for religious,
affiliated groups to meet before and after school on
campus,
Separation of church and state,
Precedence in cases,
Civil Rights Effort,
Student Dress Code for LISD,
Defenses for school boards,
Student Dress Codes (again),
Single Member school districts (1970s-1980s),
Midland Texas,
Case involving single districts,
Effects on School Board concerning single member districts,
Lubbock (again),
School buildings all equal,
School bus and train wreck (1973),
Littlefield Texas,
One of the largest accidents of this kind in the nation,
on U. S. Highway 385,
7 children died 16 seriously injured,
Lawsuit,
Against the Santa Fe Railroad,
Settled out of court,
Johnson defended Santa Fe Railroad,
Changes in Settlement Laws,
Lubbock Bar Association (again),
Involvement.
Tape 2, Side 2: Lubbock Bar Association (continued),
Ethics,
Growth.
Range Dates: 1939-1998
Bulk Dates: c. 1970-1980s
Access Information
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Transcript:
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