Scope and Content Note
Part I of the papers of Robert Lee Carter (1917-2012) spans the years circa 1960-1993 and consists of correspondence, case files, hearing transcripts, speeches, and writings. The focus is on the hearings of the New York State Special Commission on Attica, to which Carter was appointed to investigate the riots at the state prison in Attica, New York. Correspondence and other material relate to his work as general counsel of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Part II of the papers spans the years, 1941-2006, with the bulk of the material dating from 1969 to 2004. The papers are organized into the following series: Cases, General Correspondence, Subject File, Speeches and Writings File, Miscellany, and Digital Files.
The Cases represent opinions rendered by Carter as a United States district judge, many of which also appeared in the New York Law Journal. Other material retained with the cases includes notes, memoranda, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and communications with other judges. Prominent among the cases are Bery v. City of New York and Prisco v. New York. The Westminster School District v. Mendez case was argued by Carter as an attorney in 1946.
The General Correspondence is organized into an alphabetical file and a reading file, with both comprised of correspondence with friends, family, associates, and organizations. The reading file, however, also covers legal cases handled by Poletti Freidin Prashker Feldman & Gartner, the law firm in which Carter was a partner from 1969 until 1972.
The Subject File highlights Carter's career with articles written about him, biographical material, and Carter's work with various organizations, panels, and persons. Included in the series is material relating to his friends and colleagues Derrick A. Bell and Kenneth Bancroft Clark, his involvement with the NAACP especially during the resignation of the entire legal staff in 1968 over an article written by Lewis M. Steel, and his work on the New York State Special Commission on Attica investigating the prison riots at Attica, New York, in 1971.
The Speeches and Writings File is organized into a speeches and speaking engagements file and a writings file covering Carter's career especially for the years 1968-1972. The speeches and speaking engagements file includes oral history interviews, award presentations, celebratory dinners, and statements as well as speeches. Oral history interviews are also found in the Miscellany series. Remarks are not present for every event. Of interest in the writings file is Carter's first attempt at a memoir, "Trench Warfare: The Enduring Effort to Achieve Racial Justice Through Law"; the unpublished "Law and the Black Community: A Profile in Failure and Frustration"; and his master's thesis from 1941, "The Three Freedoms." He also wrote many articles on civil rights as related to education, law, housing, and employment.
The Miscellany series is comprised mostly of research material and legal briefs collected by Carter, and oral history interviews.
The Digital Files are comprised of text documents relating to Bery v. City of New York and QVC Network v. Christiana Sportswear.