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More Bay County Legal Goings On

This is a picture from Jeannie Cooper's News13 Blog

The Martin Lee Anderson / Boot Camp Case has gotten everyone here, ok well maybe just me… thinking about Bay County Law cases. I have a real soft spot for this one, for many reasons. One is the piece of footage that I hope to have up tomorrow, which was taken in ‘63-4. It’s why I’m doing what I’m doing, as far as working with film, etc. Another is studying the case in AP History with Coach Walker (Glenn Walker, who is still teaching at Gordon College in Barnesville as we speak, I hope.) who took time with me and the rest of the AP Class of ‘82 Bad News Tigers, as we were (James Sowell and Cyndi Bryant excepted, of course) at Fayette County. Even though I tried to tell him, I bet he still doesn’t realize how much his patience meant to me, and how much I needed some encouragement during that time. I can say the same for (Rev.) James McDuffie, who may still be teaching at MacIntosh in PTC, who recommended me for the class. Not many teachers recommended me for anything but detention during jr hi and high school. Teachers really do make all the difference!

The history making Gideon trial- During the still wild west (Florida) days of the 1960s, tubercular perennial job seeker Clarence Gideon allegedly fell afoul of the Daffin machine winning a craps game he was supposed to lose or some equally pathetic misstep in a life full of such missteps- and got pinned with a penny ante break in at a run down pool hall in the even more run down area of running down Millville called Bay Harbor. Some how Gideon had managed to hang on some sense of self righteous anger, and labourously penciled a request to the United States Supreme Court - for the SUPREME COURT to examine his case. Amazingly, they did, and a luckless old fellow from a remote part of a remote land changed the Constitution of the United States. This is an excerpt from the !22! page biographical note that Abe Fortas asked Gideon to write for him so that he could get “a little background.” on the case. These are excerpted from Anthony Lewis’ excellent contemporary account of the matter, Gideon’s Trumpet. Considering the massive bureaucracy-needful or not- that the case spawned- I would love to see an update- perhaps set here at the Juvenile Justice Center on 11th Street...No wait- that’s my early dementia kicking in- mixing up my time periods, etc…

Tomorrow- entertainment options in 1961 Bay County, Florida.

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Posted on Oct 11, 2007 - 01:47 PM by Jeannie Weller
Page 1 of 1 pages

 

About Me

I was born into the middle of The Strip in 1960s Atlanta, Georgia. I was educated in Fayetteville, Georgia and at Georgia Southern College (now University) in Statesboro. I moved with my family to Panama City, Florida in 1999. My two daughters and I have enjoyed exploring the beaches, the Downtown Library, and all of our neighbors' attics and cupboards. I think writing is like pulling teeth but I can't do anything else, and that... not too well. I love looking at pictures and especially old ones, so if you have any, send me a COPY and tell me about it and I'll share it with my readers. Tell everyone you know about this blog, and ya'll come back now, hear?

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