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were both filed in federal court in Atlanta in the Northern District of Georgia on August 8, 1946,
approximately three weeks after the July primary.
The complaint in Turman was filed by a
team of five attorneys, who were from at least two different law firms.
The named plaintiffs
were Mrs. Robert Lee Turman and Cullen B. Gosnell. In one of the fund-raising letters that the
Georgia Veterans for Majority Rule issued, Mrs. Turman was described as one of the founders of
the Georgia League of Women Voters and the Atlanta League of Women Voters, and one of the
The full style of the Complaint was Earl P. Cook v. Ben W. Fortson, Jr. , as the duly appointed, qualified, and
acting SECRETARY OF STATE OF THE STATE OF GEORGIA; J. Lon Duckworth, CHAIRMAN of the Democratic
Executive Committee of the State of Georgia; Grace Cannington, Secretary of the Democratic Executive Committee
of the State of Georgia; AND THE DEMOCRATIC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE STATE OF GEORGIA.
For some unexplained reason, the plaintiffs in both cases had originally filed the two lawsuits on August 2, 1946,
in the Southern District of Georgia in the Brunswick division. Cook v. Fortson, S. D. Ga. Civil Action No. 386,
National Archives Southeastern Branch, Atlanta, Georgia, Record Group 21, Box 19, Location: AS 12/34/07;
Turman v. Duckworth, S.D. Ga. Civil Action No. 385, National Archives Southeastern Branch, Atlanta, Georgia,
Record Group 21, Box 19, Location: AS 12/34/07.
As confirmation of this earlier filing of the two lawsuits in the Southern District of Georgia, in the files in Turman v.
Duckworth, N. D. Ga., National Archives, filed in Atlanta on August 8
th
, there is a letter of August 12, 1946 from
the Clerk of the Northern District of Georgia to the Clerk of the Southern District of Georgia, noting that the
attorneys for the plaintiffs in those lawsuits had desired the Clerk for the Northern District to retain the original
complaints, summons with Marshal‟s returns of service, and acknowledgement of service by the Governor and
Secretary of State, so that they could be presented to the three-judge panel in Atlanta at the hearing on August 16,
1946. The plaintiffs‟ counsel did not think there would be “time enough to forward them to you and have them
returned in time for the hearing.” F. L. Beers, Clerk, [United States District Court, Atlanta] to Scott A. Edwards,
Esq., Clerk, United States District Court, Savannah, August 12, 1946, Cook v. Fortson, N. D. Ga., National
Archives.
It is unclear why the plaintiffs would have filed two separate sets of lawsuits in different federal districts, unless they
were possibly concerned about the personal jurisdiction over one or more of the defendants, such as Ben Fortson,
the Secretary of State, who resided in Wilkes County, which is in the Southern District of Georgia. Because of
Fortson‟s official position, however, Georgia statutes provided that the Secretary of State should be considered to
“reside” at the state capitol. (Paragraph 5 of Plaintiffs‟ Complaint in Turman v. Duckworth, N.D. Ga., and page 1 of
Complaint in Cook v. Fortson, N.D. Ga.). Another defendant, Grace Cannington, was alleged to be a resident of
Seminole County in the Middle District of Georgia, so filing in the Southern District might still have presented
problems with personal jurisdiction over her. Additionally, the allegations of the Complaint in Cook v. Fortson, N.
D. Ga.,alleged she also maintained a residence in Fulton County, which is in the Northern District of Georgia. (Page
2 of Complaint in Cook v. Fortson, N.D. Ga., National Archives. The allegations in Paragraph 4 of the Complaint in
Turman v. Duckworth, N. D. Ga., however, only noted her residence in Seminole County and were silent about any
residence in Fulton County.) Despite this oddity of multiple federal filings, it does not appear that this ever became
an issue of concern to the three-judge panel, and it was never discussed in the transcripts that remain in the files of
either case in the National Archives Southeastern Branch in Atlanta. The cases filed in the Southern District of
Georgia were dismissed voluntarily by consent of all the parties on August 16, 1946, the date of the hearing before
the three-judge panel in Atlanta.
The following attorneys were signatories to the Complaint: Charles S. Reid, Marshall L. Allison, Harold T.
Patterson, William F. Lozier, and the law firm of Tye, Thomson, Tye & Edmondson. Two separate office addresses
are listed for the attorneys. It appears that the first four attorneys may have practiced together loosely and shared a
common mailing address of 528 Candler Building, Atlanta, 3, Ga. The law firm of Tye, Thomson, Tye &
Edmondson appears to have had offices in the same Candler Building, but the specific floor address was not listed.
Complaint in Turman v. Duckworth, N.D. Ga., National Archives.