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300 thirty-seven The Bob Jones Case I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. —Martin Luther King Jr. On a late Friday afternoon in April 1982, my office telephone rang. When I picked up the phone the voice on the line said, “The chief justice of the United States, the Honorable Warren Burger, wishes to speak with you.” Was this a belated April fool’s joke? I decided to play along. “Go ahead and put him through,” I said. “Mr. Coleman, this is Chief Justice Burger.” The melodious, deep bass voice was unmistakable. With his flowing white hair and modulating intonations , Warren Burger fit the public image of a chief justice. Hollywood could not have improved on the typecasting. “Mr. Coleman, the Supreme Court has a case before it, entitled Goldsboro Christian Schools, Inc. v. United States. The U.S. government was successful in the Fourth Circuit below, but the Justice Department has informed me it has changed its position on the law and is no longer willing to defend the appellate court’s opinion.” “I am frankly not familiar with the case, Mr. Chief Justice,” I replied. “Well, actually, there are two consolidated cases. One involves the Goldsboro Christian School, which does not admit Negroes, and the other involves Bob Jones University, which did not formerly admit Negroes but has now changed its policy and admits Negroes subject to certain racial restrictions on campus,” the chief justice elaborated. “Of course, I know the Bob Jones case,” I said, my blood pressure slightly rising . “I’ve followed the press accounts.The Reagan administration has reversed the government’s position. It would now give tax breaks to racially discriminatory private schools.” “That’s the case, Mr. Coleman,” the chief justice continued. “Bob Jones has appealed the Fourth Circuit’s decision revoking its tax exemption, and the U.S. government now refuses to defend its victory below. I need a counsel who 06-0488-1 part6.indd 300 9/9/10 8:27 PM The Bob Jones Case / 301 will argue in support of the Fourth Circuit’s decision. The purpose of my call is to invite you to serve as amicus curiae appointed by the Court, to defend the position of the court below. Would you be willing to take this on?” “Absolutely, I would love to do it, Mr. Chief Justice,” I said without hesitation. “Bill, don’t you first have to check and see if there is a conflict of interest in your law firm?” Burger continued. “Your firm may have clients who support the new IRS position.” Unable to restrain my unbridled enthusiasm, I blurted out, “I can assure you, Mr. Chief Justice, that if my firm has a conflict, we will no longer represent the other client.” “Well, you know, Bill, the Court cannot pay your law firm for its legal services ,” he continued, hoping to brake my perhaps precipitous response. “The most we can pay for is printing your brief and your transportation expenses from your offices to the Court on the date of the argument.” “That won’t be a problem. My firm has a long tradition of undertaking voluntary legal services. I’m sure the firm will gladly take on this opportunity. As far as travel expenses go, I work here in Washington, so that shouldn’t be a burden.” “Well, that’s good news, Bill. I’ll prepare the order,” the Chief said, and then added with a chuckle, “and by the way, Bill, when I last saw you it looked like you’ve put on some weight. You might consider walking up to the Court for the argument. You could use the exercise.” I feigned a laugh and hung up the phone, elated at the opportunity to tackle yet another threat to the Brown legacy. In the Little Rock case, the Inc Fund had fought to fortify the federal government’s resolve to end public school segregation expeditiously. In a fourteen-year struggle, we had finally busted the Girard College trust that excluded children of color. But like a giant sponge, when we pressed down in one spot, another trouble spot popped up. President Reagan had reversed Richard Nixon’s decision to deny substantial indirect federal subsidies to private schools that discriminated against Americans of color. If whites-only private schools offered a backdoor...

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