Civil Rights Lawyer James E. Ferguson II Dies at 82

James E. Ferguson II, a towering figure in the civil rights movement and a dedicated lawyer, passed away on July 21st in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the age of 82. His impactful career spanned decades, marked by significant legal battles against school segregation, efforts to overturn wrongful convictions, and advocacy to spare prisoners from execution.

A Legacy of Fighting for Justice

Ferguson’s commitment to civil rights began long before he earned his law degree. Growing up in the Jim Crow South, he actively organized classmates to challenge segregation in public spaces like libraries and lunch counters. After graduating from Columbia Law School in 1967, where he was one of a small number of Black students, he co-founded Charlotte’s first racially integrated law firm with Julius Chambers and Adam Stein.

Ferguson described his work as the “legal arm of the civil rights movement in North Carolina.” One of his most significant achievements was his role in the landmark 1971 Supreme Court case, Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education. His efforts helped persuade the court to uphold busing as a tool for school desegregation, a ruling that became a national blueprint for integration efforts. Ferguson faced significant adversity, including an arson attack on his law office during the case, but remained steadfast in his mission.

Exonerations and Fighting the Death Penalty

Beyond school integration, Ferguson was instrumental in overturning wrongful convictions. He played a key role in securing pardons for the Wilmington 10 and represented the Charlotte Three, whose sentences were later commuted. In a notable case with the Innocence Project, Ferguson utilized DNA evidence and new testimony to exonerate Darryl Hunt in 2004, who had spent 19 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Ferguson’s powerful closing argument to the jury emphasized the importance of justice for all.

Furthermore, Ferguson utilized North Carolina’s Racial Justice Act to challenge death sentences. Beginning in 2011, he successfully argued for the commutation of death sentences for four inmates, changing their sentences to life imprisonment. His law partner, Sonya Pfeiffer, remembered him as someone who “endured abuses and threats but made everyone feel seen and heard — that is the civil rights movement.”