George Edward Chalmer Hayes Explained

George E. C. Hayes
Birth Date:1 July 1894
Education:Brown University (1915)
Howard University School of Law (1918)

George Edward Chalmers Hayes (July 1, 1894  - December 20, 1968) was a Washington, D.C., lawyer who defended Annie Lee Moss on March 11, 1954. He was the lead attorney in Bolling v. Sharpe (1954). In 1955 he became the first African American to serve on the District of Columbia Public Utilities Commission.

Biography

He was born in Richmond, Virginia, and graduated from Brown University in 1915, and then earned a law degree from Howard University School of Law in 1918. He taught at Howard University School of Law starting in 1924 while he maintained a private practice in the District of Columbia.

On March 11, 1954, he defended Annie Lee Moss.[1]

In 1954 with Spottswood William Robinson III, he was the lead counsel on Bolling v. Sharpe, the companion case to Brown v. Board of Education. Hayes argued that denying African American students the liberty to attend non-segregated schools violated due process. Bolling was decided under the Fifth Amendment's due process clause while Brown was decided under the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.

In 1955 he became the first African American to serve on the District of Columbia Public Utilities Commission.[2]

He died on December 20, 1968.[3] [4]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Annie Moss . Annie Moss and her attorney, a Negro lawyer named George E.C. Hayes, did not accept this brushoff without protest. Hayes wrote each member of the subcommittee, noting that the Army has suspended her from her job. The Washington Daily News took up her case. While McCarthy was in Florida two weeks ago, the subcommittee agreed to give her the chance to defend herself. ... . . March 22, 1954 .
  2. News: Negro Nominated for Job in Capital. Hayes, Defender of Mrs. Moss in Security Hearing, Gets District Utilities Post . The Negro lawyer who successfully defended Annie Lee Moss against 'security risk' charges won a District of Columbia job nomination today from ... . . February 13, 1955 . 2014-09-03 .
  3. News: George Hayes, 74, A Rights Lawyer. Argued School Segregation Case Before High Court . . December 21, 1968 . 2014-09-03 .
  4. News: George E.C. Hayes . . December 24, 1968 .