Seybourn Harris Lynne

Seybourn Harris Lynne (July 25, 1907 – September 10, 2000) was an American jurist. He was United States district judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. He was Chief Judge of the court from 1953 to 1973. At the time of his death, he was the longest-serving judge on the federal bench and the last remaining judge appointed by President Truman. Judge Lynne served from 1946 to 2000, although his final 27 years were in senior status. Early life and career Lynne was born in Decatur, Alabama, in 1907. His father, Seybourn Arthur Lynne, was at attorney who served in the Alabama House of Representatives and the Alabama Senate. Lynne received a Bachelor of Science degree from Alabama Polytechnic Institute (now Auburn University) in 1927 and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1930. He was in private practice in Decatur from 1930 to 1934. In 1934, he was elected as a judge in Morgan County. He was elected a judge for the Eighth Circuit of Alabama in 1940. In 1942, Lynne joined the United States Army, where he served in the Judge Advocate General's Corps during World War II. He served through 1946 and advanced to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Federal judicial service On December 14, 1945, Lynne was nominated by President Harry S. Truman to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama vacated by Judge Thomas Alexander Murphree. Lynne was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 20, 1945, and received his commission on January 3, 1946. In 1953, he became the Chief Judge of the court. Lynne was involved in a number of civil rights cases during his service. On June 5, 1956, in the Browder v. Gayle case, the District Court ruled 2-1, that bus segregation is unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Lynne wrote the dissenting opinion in the case. In this case, Lynne's dissent was based on his belief that Brown v. Board of Education desegregated only educational facilities; but for other public services Plessy v. Ferguson remained in effect. This was the first case that extended desegregation to additional facilities, effectively overruling the Supreme Court in Plessy.