Julius Winfield Robertson and Dovey Johnson Roundtree, center, at the Supreme Court in about 1955. (Courtesy of Dovey Johnson Roundtree/Courtesy of Dovey Johnson Roundtree)Dovey Johnson Roundtree, a Washington criminal defense lawyer and courtroom warrior for civil rights who played a critical early role in the desegregation of interstate bus travel and mentored several generations of black lawyers, died May 21 at an assisted-living facility in Charlotte. Ms. Roundtree, Bennett recalled in his memoir “In the Ring” (2008), “had a motherly warmth” and a “low-key, casual style” that appealed “not only to the mind but also the heart and soul of the jurors.”Dovey Johnson Roundtree. The Keys case aside, Ms. Roundtree was involved in few court cases that dealt explicitly with civil rights. Griffin was cleared after Ms. Roundtree produced an alibi that placed him in Philadelphia at the time of the murders.

Source: Washington Post May 22, 2018 01:41 UTC