During the day, California Deputy Attorney General Arvon Perteet handles complex fraud cases, among other matters, for the state. But on a recent weeknight, he left his work behind and transformed into Thurgood Marshall in 1961, overseeing the work of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in New York City.

Perteet's time travel was part of a historical reenactment in a San Francisco federal courtroom, played out before judges and attorneys within the Northern District of California.

Working alongside Marshall was NAACP staff attorney Constance Baker Motley, and the two were preparing arguments for the desegregation of the University of Mississippi.

Years later, Marshall would join the U.S. Supreme Court and Motley would become the first African American woman to sit in the New York State Senate and later as a New York federal judge.

But at this reenactment, Perteet became Marshall and Motley was played by U.S. Attorney's Office Oakland Branch Chief Alexis James.

"This man has got to be crazy," "Marshall" said in the reenactment, walking across the room and tossing a letter at "Motley."

As she silently began to read the letter, Assistant U.S. Attorney Abraham Simmons stepped forward, playing the role of letter writer and civil rights pioneer James Meredith.

"I am submitting an application for admission to the University of Mississippi," Simmons said, voicing the words of Meredith's letter, which went on to say he is anticipating that he'll be denied entrance to the school. "I discussed this matter with Mr. [Medgar] Evers, the Mississippi Field Secretary for the NAACP, and he suggested that I contact you and request legal assistance from your organization in the event it is needed."

For the next hour, audience members were taken on a legal roller coaster as they watched the story of Motley and Meredith's battle with the University of Mississippi unfold. The reenactment pulled from transcripts of court proceedings and other contemporaneous documents, as well as Motley's autobiography, and followed the case up to its resolution in the Fifth Circuit in 1962.

Bringing the Past to Life

The Feb. 26 reenactment was presented by the Federal Bar Association's Northern District of California Chapter and sponsored by the Northern District Court Historical Society, the California Association of Black Lawyers and the Charles Houston Bar Association in Oakland.

It was the fourth reenactment in recent years by the San Francisco Bay Area chapter and more are in the pipeline, according to chapter President Randy Sue Pollock.

U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam participated in the Motley-Meredith event, as well as one in September to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, the Supreme Court's landmark decision striking down segregation in public schools.

"I think it's important to bring history to life. There can be an assumption after the fact, to think that this was all inevitable … that right will prevail," Judge Gilliam later told Law360. "It's really an important lesson for us to remember. This didn't all just happen. It happened because people took an incredible risk and believed in their principles so much that they were willing to make a sacrifice for all of us."

The first reenactment, in 2023, followed the legal proceedings of the Port Chicago 50, a group of African American sailors who were discriminated against and unjustly convicted of mutiny in 1944.

Federal and state judges have participated in the reenactments, as well as Justice Department lawyers and private practice attorneys, she said.

"We get great buy-in," Pollock told Law360. "Everyone wants to play a role."

A Request for an Injunction

After Meredith learned in May 1961 that his application had been denied, he sued the university in Mississippi federal court.

The first step was a hearing in June 1961 regarding Meredith's request for a preliminary injunction to let Meredith start classes. In the reenactment, Santa Clara Deputy County Counsel Cara Sandberg portrayed the assistant attorney general for Mississippi, Dugas Shands, and asked "Meredith" if he had any objections to the state examining his military record.

Meredith, who had been a staff sergeant in the Air Force, refused, saying he didn't want to set a "precedent for Negroes" where they have to go through a different procedure for admission. After Motley objected to the line of questioning, Mississippi U.S. District Judge Sidney Mize — played with a full Southern drawl by San Francisco attorney Chris Stecher of Keesal Young & Logan — overruled the objection.

"If he declines to authorize that, then an unfavorable inference could be drawn," the judge replied.

The judge subsequently denied Meredith's application for a preliminary injunction, and Meredith appealed to the Fifth Circuit. The appeals court chastised Judge Mize in its ruling, noting the latitude given the defense and how Meredith's efforts were "severely circumscribed." It ordered a prompt full hearing and ruling from the lower court, noting that the next term at Ole Miss would begin in weeks.

The trial was held on Jan. 27, 1962, and Judge Mize ruled that there was no evidence showing that "the application of any Negro or Chinaman or anyone of any other race has been rejected because of his race or color."

Meredith appealed, and on June 25, 1962, the Fifth Circuit ruled 2-1 in his favor, granting an injunction requiring the university to admit him.

For the reenactment, Fifth Circuit Judge John Minor Wisdom was played by Judge Gilliam. Sitting at the dais, he read, "A full review of the record leads the Court inescapably to the conclusion that from the moment the defendants discovered Meredith was a Negro, they engaged in a carefully calculated campaign of delay, harassment, and masterly inactivity."

Following the court ruling, Mississippi Gov. Ross Barnett, however, announced that the school would not be integrated.

"There is no sacrifice I will shrink from making to preserve the racial integrity of our people and institutions," said Barnett, played by attorney Michael F. Ram of Morgan & Morgan PA.

Motley subsequently filed orders for contempt, which were heard before the full Fifth Circuit in September 1962.

"I think every reasonable effort has been made to get the Governor to comply with the order of this Court — what we seek to avoid is any further delay in the admission of Mr. Meredith to the University of Mississippi," Motley told the federal appellate court.

At the end of the hearing, the court found Barnett in contempt but said he could avoid jail by admitting Meredith. Meredith arrived on campus with U.S. Marshals for protection and attended his first class on Monday, Oct. 1, 1962. He went on to graduate and then earn a law degree from Columbia University.

Historic Figures Come to Bear Witness

U.S. District Judge Trina L. Thompson, who had recommended that the Federal Bar Association present the reenactment, told the audience that the legal victory won by Motley and Meredith "pushed open the door to integration in the Deep South."

After the event, Judge Thompson told Law360 that the reenactment told a story about courage and resilience.

Meredith, who is now 91, could not travel for the event. His wife, Judy Meredith, was in attendance with other family members. Also in attendance was one of the U.S. Marshals who served as security for Meredith at the University of Mississippi, Second Lieutenant Henry Gallagher.

Ram later told Law360 that a reenactment is an experience for both the performers and the audience.

Like a play, it "immerses the audience and adds a timelessness to the events, which makes it more powerful than simply reading the words. I think it helped the audience recognize the parallels between the issues at play in Jim Crow-era Mississippi and in the present day," Ram said. "It certainly did for me."

The Meredith case and others demonstrate how the judiciary "plays a crucial role in protecting the rights and freedoms of everyone," he added.

Stecher, who is a member of his firm's diversity and inclusion committee, said he "loved seeing everyone lose themselves in their roles," and that the participants later discussed how much the reenactment affected them.

Asked if the present pushback against DEI efforts brings more importance to such events, Stecher said without question.

"Far from a negative, DEI is about removing barriers to everyone's voice so that each of us can thrive together," he said. "That is the crucial lesson from James Meredith and Judge Motley's work."

--Editing by Nicole Bleier.