1. In his autobiography, James Meredith referred to his lawsuit as “the last battle of the Civil War.” Why do you think he described it that way? Do you agree with his assessment?

2. The first time this case came before the Fifth Circuit, Judge John Minor Wisdom noted in his opinion as follows: “This case was tried below and argued here in the eerie atmosphere of never-never land.” What do you think he meant by that? How did the Fifth Circuit seek to deal with that situation?

3. A trial judge can impact the course of a proceeding in many ways, in addition to making a final ruling for or against a party. How did the conduct of Judge Mize affect this proceeding? Could the repeated delays have caused some plaintiffs to give up and drop their case?

4. When she appeared before the Fifth Circuit en banc, Mrs. Motley said that she didn’t think the Court could take any further action itself. What did she mean by that? Do you think she was right?

5. Judge Cameron of the Fifth Circuit never accepted Brown v. Board and issued repeated stays of the Court’s injunction requiring the University to admit Meredith. Would you consider him to be an “activist judge?” Would you consider the Fifth Circuit judges known as “The Four” to be “activist judges?” What does it mean to be an “activist judge?”