Civil Rights: True to Form

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U.S. District Judge William Harold Cox, 63, is by every accounting a first-rate lawyer, a hard-working jurist—and a tried and true Mississippian (he roomed with Senator Eastland at Ole Miss) who, since his appointment by President Kennedy in 1961, has made a habit of deciding against the Federal Government in civil rights cases. Last week he did it again.

Before him were indictments against 17 men, including a sheriff and a deputy, in connection with the murder last June near Philadelphia, Miss., of three civil rights workers. One charge, a felony, was for conspiracy to deprive the victims of their constitutional rights to life and liberty without due process of law. A second charge, a misdemeanor, was for violation of the victims' civil rights.

Judge Cox dismissed the felony indictment, holding that "the indictment surely states a heinous crime against the state of Mississippi, but not a crime against the United States." At the same time, he ruled that the men must stand trial on the lesser charge, which carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.