Manuscripts Department
Library of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
SOUTHERN HISTORICAL COLLECTION
#4866
ALEXANDER CHARNS PAPERS
Inventory
Abstract: Alexander Charns, a lawyer from Durham, N.C.,
wrote Cloak and Gavel (1992), a study of the
relationship between the United States Supreme Court
and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Photocopies of Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) files concerning the relationship between
the United States Supreme Court and the FBI.
Included are files on individual United States Supreme
Court justices; circuit courts; government officials;
the American Bar Association; wiretapping; protests
and local politics; and the Jencks decision, which
relates to testimony by government witnesses. Also
included are photocopies of “official” and
“confidential” of J. Edgar Hoover files and papers
from a lawsuit filed by Alexander Charns against the
FBI in order to gain access to restricted documents.
Online Catalog Terms:
American Bar Association--History--20th century.
Charns, Alexander, 1956- .
Civil rights demonstrations--North Carolina.
Clark, Tom C. (Tom Campbell), 1899-1977.
Douglas, William O. (William Orville), 1898- .
Fortas, Abe.
Frankfurter, Felix, 1882-1965.
Freedom of information--United States.
Goldberg, Arthur J.
Harlan, John M. (John Marshall), 1899-1971.
Hoover, J. Edgar (John Edgar), 1895-1972.
Judges--United States--History.
Lawyers--North Carolina--History--20th century.
Marshall, Thurgood, 1908-1993.
Minton, Sherman, 1890-1965.
Mitchell, John N. (John Newton), 1913- .
Parker, John Johnston, 1885-1958.
Tamm, Edward A. (Edward Allen), 1906- .
United States. Court of Appeals (9th Circuit)--History.
United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation--History--20th
century.
United States. Freedom of Information Act.
United States. Supreme Court--History.
Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975--Protest movements--North
Carolina.
Warren, Earl, 1891-1974.
Williams, Edward Bennett.
Wiretapping--United States.
Size: About 20,000 items (60.0 linear ft.).
Date Span: 1930s-1990s.
Provenance: Received from Alexander Charns of Durham, N.C., on
15 June 1997 (Acc. 97074).
Access: No restrictions.
Copyright: Retained by the authors of items in these papers, or
their descendants, as stipulated by United States
copyright law.
Table of Contents:
Series Descriptions
Series 1. U.S. Supreme Court Justices
Series 2. Circuit Courts and Government Officials
Series 3. American Bar Association
Series 4. Wiretapping
Series 5. Protests and Local Politics
Series 6. Jencks Decision
Series 7. Charns Suit
Series 8. J. Edgar Hoover Files
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series 1. U.S. Supreme Court Justices
1930s-1990s.
Arrangement: alphabetically by justice’s name.
Folder 1 Black, Hugo
2 Brandeis, Louis
3 Cardozo, Benjamin
4-25 Clark, Tom
26-33 Douglas, William
34-39 Fortas, Abe
40-42 Frankfurther, Felix
43-48 Goldberg, Arthur
49-52 Harlan, John Marshall
53 Holmes, Oliver Wendell
54 Hughes, Charles
55-64 Marshall, Thurgood
65 McKenna, Joseph
66 McReynolds, James
67-68 Minton, Sherman
69 Murphy, Frank
70 Reed, Stanley
71 Roberts, Owen
72 Stone, Harlan
73 Sutherland, George
74 Taft, William Howard
75 Van Devanter, Willis
76 Vinson, Frederick
77-92 Warren, Earl
93 Whittaker, Charles
94-100 Supreme Court Exhibits
Series 2. Circuit Courts and Government Officials
1930s-1990s.
Arrangement: by court number and alphabetically by government
official’s name.
Folder 101 D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals
102 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals
103 4th Circuit Court of Appeals
104 6th Circuit Court of Appeals
105 7th Circuit Court of Appeals
106 8th Circuit Court of Appeals
107-113 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
114 10th Circuit Court of Appeals
115 Byrnes, James: Director of War
Mobilization
116 Crook, Philip: chief, U.S. Supreme Court
police force
117 Cropley, Charles Elmore: clerk, U.S.
Supreme Court
118 Dilli, Reginald: deputy clerk, U.S.
Supreme Court
119 Eskridge, Chauncey: Chicago attorney
120 Haynsworth, Clement: judge, U. S. circuit
court
121 Lippitt, T. Perry: marshal, U. S. Supreme
Court
122 McGowan, Carl: judge, U. S. circuit court
123 Medina, Harold: judge, U. S. circuit court
124-125 Mitchell, John: U.S. Attorney General
126-127 Parker, John: judge, U. S. circuit court
128 Shenker, Israel: reporter, New York Times
129 Smith, Willis: U.S. Senator
130 Swygert, Luther: U. S. assistant attorney
general
131-138 Tamm, Edward: judge, U. S. circuit court
139 Willey, Harold: clerk, U. S. Supreme Court
140 Waring, J. Waties: judge, U. S. circuit
court
141-145 Williams, Edward Bennett: attorney
general
146 Williams, Gerhard: U. S. assistant
secretary of state
147 Wright, J. Sicelly: U. S. assistant
attorney general
148-149 Wyzanski, Charles: judge, U. S. circuit
court
Series 3. American Bar Association
1930s-1990s.
Arrangement: by file number.
Folder 150 American Bar Association, general
151-158 ABA, 63-383 sections 1-8
159 ABA, 63-383-41x
160 ABA, 63-383-118
161 ABA, 63-383-185
162-207 ABA, 94-1-369 sections 1-5
Series 4. Wiretapping
1930s-1990s.
Arrangement: by file number.
Folder 208-211 Wiretapping, general
212-273 Wiretapping, 62-12114 volumes 1-62
274 Wiretapping, 62-12114 supplemental release
275 Wiretapping, 62-12114 June mail
276 Wiretapping, 62-1410-66-6200
Series 5. Protests and Local Politics
1930s-1990s.
Folder 277 Moore, Dan
278 Kirks, Rowland
279 Ku Klux Klan in Charlotte
280 Los Angeles crime
281 USSR games in Charlotte
282-290 Lunch counter sit-ins, CE volumes 1-9
291-294 Lunch counter sit-ins, HQ volumes 1-4
295-307 University of North Carolina Vietnam war
protests
Series 6. Jencks Decision
1930s-1990s.
Arrangement: by file number.
Folder 308-311 Jencks decision, general
312-326 Jencks decision, 62-104029 volumes 1-14
Series 7. Charns Suit
1930s-1990s.
Charns’s files on his lawsuit to acquire closed FBI documents.
Folder 327-337 Charns suit, general
338-349 Tolson settlement
350-358 FBI FOIA policies
Series 8. J. Edgar Hoover Files
1930s-1990s.
Arrangement: by file number.
Photocopies of FBI files released to Charns after his
successful lawsuit. These are labeled JEH O&C. They are
referred to in the suit as J. Edgar Hoover official and
confidential files.
Folder 359-472