July 17, 1964
Event Details
Date: July 17, 1964
Summary: A three-panel team of federal judges hears both the Heart of Atlanta and Pickrick cases in Atlanta, with Attorney General Robert Kennedy’s office intervening in both.
The judges order Maddox and Rolleston to turn over all relevant documents to determine if their businesses fall under the Commerce Clause and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Witnesses testify, including those who faced Maddox’s pistol at the Pickrick.
Quotations
“ A three-panel team of federal judges would hear the Heart of Atlanta and the Pickrick matters on the same day, one case after the other. The panel heard from a score of witnesses. The ministry students, it turned out, hadn’t been the only ones to find themselves facing Lester Maddox’s pistol. ”
Greene, Ronnie. Heart of Atlanta: Five Black Pastors and the Supreme Court Victory for Integration (pp. 97). Chicago Review Press. Kindle Edition.