Champion of Civil Rights: Judge John Minor Wisdom

by Joel Wm. Friedman

One of the least publicly recognized heroes of the civil rights movement in the United States, John Minor Wisdom served as a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from 1957 until his death in 1999 and wrote many of the landmark decisions instrumental in desegregating the American South. In this revealing biography, law professor Joel William Friedman explores Judge Wisdom's substantial legal contributions and political work at a critical time in the history of the South.

416 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Joel William Friedman is the Jack M. Gordon Professor of Procedural Law & Jurisdiction at the Tulane University Law School, where he has been teaching since 1976.
He earned a B.S. from Cornell University in 1972 and a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1975 and was employed as a Law Clerk in 1975-1976.
He has been Visiting Professor of Law at a number of prestigious law schools all around the world (University of San Diego Law School, University of Tel Aviv Law School, University of Texas at Austin, Chuo University in Japan, Hebrew University of Jerusalem Law School, Beijing Normal University School of Law) and published numerous books and articles on law.