IN SEARCH OF ATTICUS FINCH: JAMES E. FERGUSON II

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Although Fergie is best known for his work in the criminal arena, having been included as a criminal defense attorney in every edition of Best Lawyers in America since 1982, he actually has done it all: trials, hearings, depositions, school desegregation, employment discrimination, and other civil rights cases. Like the firm whose commitment he shaped and demonstrated, Fergie never forgot that the work was about people, not just lawsuits. Extraordinarily kind, he treated every client with courtesy, dignity, and respect. Not surprisingly, those are the qualities clients saw in him--with appreciation and affection added.

NEWSMAKER OF THE YEAR: JAMES FERGUSON

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Charlotte finally decided to do something about its deep racial divide.

And James Ferguson was there amid the action.

Ferguson, The Post's newsmaker of the year, represented the families of three black motorists slain by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police in as many years. He is seeking to reopen the landmark busing case won by his law firm 30 years ago. And, he chaired the task force which organized the city's first race summit.

Ferguson said he is humbled by the honor.

"There's always someone else equally deserving," he said. "That's certainly true when I am concerned."

EASING RACIAL TENSIONS GETS THE LOCAL TOUCH

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"As much as all of us would like to see a society where race doesn't matter, it's not going happen. We're not there yet," says James Ferguson, a Charlotte civil rights attorney and task force force leader.

FOR MORE THAN THREE DECADES, THEY'VE STOOD BY DESEGREGATION

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They are Charlotte's guardians of school integration. Quietly, from their third-floor offices off Kenilworth Avenue, some of the same civil rights attorneys who first fought to bring diversity to Charlotte-Mecklenburg classrooms more than three decades ago have been tediously keeping watch over the school system's desegregation efforts.

MURDER CONFESSION CHALLENGED

Henderson Hill represented Rodriguez Ferguson at trial in 1997. Mr. Ferguson was charged with five counts of first degree murder and related crimes after killing five people and paralyzing a 14-year-old in Hoke County. The case was moved to Robeson County due to pretrial publicity. Mr. Ferguson was given five life sentences for his crimes.

IN A FREE SOCIETY, FREEDOM IS NOT FOR SALE

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In a free society, freedom is not for sale. No one should have to buy freedom nor even be allowed to. Poor suspects should not have to languish in jail simply because they are not able to post bail, and rich people should not be released simply because they are able to post bail. Wealth should not be a factor.

NEW HOME FOR LEGAL EAGLES

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A great deal of Charlotte's recent history has been relocated.

The Ferguson Stein law firm, one of the region's most prestigious civil rights advocacy teams, has relocated to new offices on Kenilworth Avenue.

IN PROFILE: CHARLOTTE ATTORNEY JAMES FERGUSON

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As senior partner of Ferguson Stein Watt Wallas Adkins & Gresham PA, Ferguson's courtroom skills are close to legend. . . .

There's no one better at it, concluded The National Law Journal in 1989. The weekly paper recognized Ferguson for his ability to relate to a jury, naming him one of the country's top 10 trial lawyers.

He gets similar praise closer to home. N.C. Attorney General Lacy Thornburg has known him for almost 20 years and considers him one of the most thoroughly prepared lawyers to appear before the bench.

"I never saw him in a case that wasn't a tough one," Thornburg says. "And I seldom saw him lose one." 

JIM FERGUSON: DRAMATIC ARTIST AS TRIAL LAWYER

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To the public, Jim Ferguson isn't as well known as his law partner, Julius Chambers, who is president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and one of America’s most prominent civil rights lawyers.

Ferguson is most often remembered, in fact, for two cases he lost--those of the Charlotte 3 and the Wilmington 10, a dozen blacks and one white who were convicted and sentenced to long prison terms during periods of racial unrest in North Carolina. (An appellate court eventually overturned the Wilmington 10 conviction.)

Though the public perception of Ferguson may be vague, his peers know him well: They consider him one of the top trial lawyers in the state.

Gastonia lawyer Jay Stroud, who prosecuted the Wilmington 10, calls him "one of the finest trial lawyers that I’ve ever seen in court."

Don Stephens, who is on the special prosecutions staff of the N.C. attorney general’s office, ranks him "definitely at the top" among North Carolina lawyers who take on controversial cases.

ACTIVISTS BACK KEEPING ALIVE VOTING LAW

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Charlotte attorney Julius Chambers said Wednesday the 1965 Voting Rights Act should be extended because the fight for voting rights and civil rights isn't over.

"In 1981, many people think that we have achieved all that we need to achieve in assuring civil rights throughout the country," Chambers said. "We can't seem to imagine that anyone ever discriminated in the past."