On Sunday July 31, 2011, the United States legal system felt a shift in its scales as iconic and treasured civil rights leader Judge Matthew James Perry passed away at age 89. A South Carolina native, Perry was known nationally for the many door-opening cases that he tried as a lawyer and for his dynamic and respectful style of courtroom etiquette. In the nearly nine decade life of a man who has been called towering, inspiring and transformational, the entire face of justice of the country changed tremendously, with many of the positive changes ushered in by Perry himself.
Perry began his legal career in times where the laws of the land for a man of his complexion were complex to say the least, as the concept and rules of “separate but equal” continued to reign throughout the nation. After serving as a sergeant in the Army, Perry earned his undergraduate degree from South Carolina State College (now SC State University). Because he was not allowed admission into the law school at the University of South Carolina, Perry enrolled in the now-dissolved law school at South Carolina State College. The fledgling lawyer received his Juris Doctorate in 1951 and started a practice in Spartanburg County as the only African American lawyer in the area. From 1961-76 Perry held partnership with Jenkins, Perry and Pride in Columbia.
As a lawyer, Perry tried nearly 7,000 cases. Some of his most memorable trials surrounded overturning discriminatory policies such as: Edwards v. South Carolina where the U.S. Supreme Court established first amendment protections for demonstrators; Peterson v. the City of Greenville where the jurisdiction of federal anti-discrimination rules were enlarged; and the 1963 case of Gantt v. Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina where Clemson University was desegregated by student Harvey Gantt. In 1976, President Gerald Ford appointed Perry to the U.S. Military Court of Appeals, making him the second African-American following Justice Thurgood Marshall to hold the distinction. In 1979, President Jimmy Carter appointed Perry as U.S. district judge for South Carolina. During his lifetime Perry earned honorary degrees from several academic institutions including Princeton University, S.C. State University, the University of South Carolina, Clemson University, The Citadel, Francis Marion, Lander and Central Michigan University. He also served as Chief Counsel for the state NAACP. In 1995, Judge Perry assumed senior status in the U.S. District Court. As a testament to his work, in 1994 President Bill Clinton named the Federal courthouse in downtown Columbia in his honor. Until his death Judge Perry worked every weekday at the building which was dedicated in 2004. For those who personally knew Judge Perry, accolades of adoration and admiration abound in their remembrances of him.
Attorney Merle Code of Greenville’s Ogletree Deakins Law Firm said that he would always remember that Perry treated everyone with tremendous fairness inside and outside of his courtroom. Code called Perry a guiding light in the South and in the nation. Attorney Theo Mitchell credited Perry in giving him advice on his career on several occasions.
Several of Perry’s former law clerks spoke highly of the judge as an impactful figure in their lives both professionally and personally. US Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Austin, who clerked for Perry for one year, stated that Judge Perry was her mentor until the end of his days. She says that she learned from him what to do and not to do as a lawyer and as a judge and that that she always consulted with Perry before making any major life decision.
Business attorney Rita McKinney with McNair Law Firm stated that Perry’s impact on her life and career was vast. She says that after his death she conveyed to her fellow clerks that he essentially handed each of them a “silver spoon” in terms of his knowledge and experience in the courtroom. Brent Clinkscales, attorney at Womble Carlyle Sandridge and Rice, called Judge Perry a hammer of justice and a father figure. He says the judge allowed he and his fellow clerks a “room with a view to greatness”. He states that the judge was always open and honest and that Perry’s actions as both a lawyer and a judge set the stage for a more just legal system.
The Honorable Judge Perry was laid to rest on August 4, 2011 in Columbia, South Carolina. Over 2,000 people attended the service including Gov. Nikki Haley, U.S. Sen. Lindsay Graham, state Attorney General Alan Wilson, U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, retired U.S. Sen. Ernest “Fritz” Hollings, and Retired S.C. Chief Justice Ernest Finney. President Obama, who was scheduled to meet with Perry two weeks after his death, sent a letter of condolence to his widow, Hallie Perry. Governor Haley ordered flags at the State House to be flown half-staff to honor the legend of American justice.