No single person did more to minimize the adverse effects of generational white racism in Alabama's judicial system than Robert A. Martin.

Advancements in medicine at Johns Hopkins University helped to level the judicial playing field for black lawyers in Alabama in the 1980s.

Benjamin Bryan Starr was the father of legendary NFL quarterback Bart Starr. He was also my ally in the Montgomery County courthouse.

From 1963 to 1989, Mary G. Auburtin was a court clerk in a rural Alabama county. During an era of open racism, she was a beacon of light.

This interview discussed the status of Alabama's Black citizens in 1987. How far have Blacks advanced since this 1987 interview? You decide.

Ramus Rhodes was the janitor at the University of Alabama's law school. He was my friend, mentor, and real law school professor.

My first legal case was my own. It occurred while I was a second-year student at the University of Alabama’s School of Law.

Mathis W. Piel, chief judge of the Montgomery City Court in the 1970s and 80s, was a flaming white racist. God ended his reign of terror.

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published (via Facebook) on November 9, 2014; Republished on March 12, 2024 Scottsboro Boy Clarence Norris (left) celebrated his pardon with Dr. Levi Watkins (right) in the President's office at Alabama State University on November 29, 1976. My father told me the story of the Scottsboro Boys when I was a young boy. I never forgot it. This was the case that motivated me to become a lawyer. My father was extremely proud that I was the att

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on February 24, 2024 An Editorial Opinion On February 16, 2024, the Alabama Supreme Court...

In 1942, Ms. Elizabeth “Lizzy” Williams, a 23-year-old black woman from Birmingham, Alabama, was convicted as an accomplice to robbery. Her crime was lying to police to protect a man accused of robbery for stealing chickens to feed his family. Upon her conviction, Ms. Williams was sentenced to 218 years in Alabama’s prison system. This is her incredible story.

By: Donald V. Watkins February 21, 2024 Thirty-nine years ago, three Black lawyers achieved something in Montgomery, Alabama that had...

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on December 9, 2023 An Editorial Opinion Hunter Biden is represented in his federal...

By Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on April 6, 2018; Republished on October 19, 2023 Former Talladega, Alabama police...

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on September 4, 2023 An Editorial Opinion On March 18, 2023, The Tuscaloosa News...

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on June 10, 2023 Attorney David S. Shanksman, Tampa, Florida An Editorial Opinion The man who taught me exceptional trial skills as a young attorney was J. L. Chestnut, Jr., a Selma, Alabama civil and criminal attorney. Chestnut litigated cases across the country. No one in America could beat J. L. Chestnut in the courtroom. He was the "best of the best" trial lawyers. J. L. Chestnut, Jr., died on September 30, 2008. Chestnut

This article features three men who had the courage to break down the color barrier in Alabama's public schools at a time when their lives and safety were threatened for doing so. Each man was a superstar in the profession. Each one was my client. And, each one made me a better person and lawyer. These men are Harvest Mitchell, Jr., in Florence, Alabama, Charles L. Carter in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and Walker Alexander in Attalla, Alabama.

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on July 17, 2022 Photo of 93-year-old U.S. Circuit Judge United States Court of Appeals Eleventh Circuit, Gerald Bard Tjoflat, an intellectual racist. An Editorial Opinion People of interracial goodwill often ask me to help them understand how systemic racism works in Alabama. I will use my own case to breakdown a real-life example of systemic racism within the criminal justice system. I chose this example because the business

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said, "Don't let anybody take your manhood." Watkins men live by that creed.

By Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published on March 15, 2019 The fair administration of justice requires an appeal in my case. On March 8, 2019, a federal jury in Birmingham, Alabama convicted me on all ten counts of conspiracy, bank fraud, and wire fraud charges following a three-week trial. The jury also convicted my son, Donald, Jr., of conspiracy and one count of wire fraud. Our sentencing is scheduled for July 16, 2019. In the aftermath of these convictions, my fami