Series XIII: Dictabelts

Containers:

2k204-001 through 2k204-0123

Extent:

audio files converted from 130 Dictabelts.

Scope and content:

This series consists of full case recordings from many of the Civil Rights demonstrations cases heard in the Danville Corporation Court from December 1966 through April 1967. The recordings include witnesses' testimony, defense attorney's motions and arguments, Commonwealth and Danville City attorney's arguments, rulings and sentences of Judge Archibald M. Aiken, Jr., witness and recorder oaths, and the calling of the court docket.

This series is organized into 27 subseries (subseries A-AA), with each subseries representing one case. A majority of the cases documented in these audio recordings consist of dozens of individual cases consolidated and heard together on the charges of Violation of Temporary Injunction and Restraining Order. See the "defendants named" section in each subseries for the full list of individuals included in these consolidated cases. Names are listed in the order they occur in the audio, generally through the courts roll call. If abesent, the reason for the defendant's absence in placed in ( ) following the name. Additionally each subseries contains the belt list with information on the runtime and contents for each belt.

Also contained herein is the recording of the 1973 February 9 Corporation Court hearing concerning the defense motion to suspend the sentences for those defendants whose sentences had been upheld on appeal by the Supreme Court of Appeals.

The original Dictabelts included wrapper containing written summaries of their audio contents, noting the approximate time the content appears in the recording. In some cases, copies of the original court docket also accompany the original Dictabelt. These wrappers and docket records are now digitized and available with the audio files available through the Library of Virginia's Digital Collections Discovery

Access and use

Contents