Bluford vs. Canada, Civil Action No. 42: Amended Motion for New Trial
Amended motion for new trial in Civil Action No. 42: Lucile Bluford v. S.W. Canada, wherein Bluford's attorney Charles Houston moves to set aside the verdict and grant her a new trial. He argues that the original verdict was invalid due to an illegally assembled all-white jury, that a witness was allowed to testify that Lincoln University could have created a journalism department by Fall 1939 without any demonstrated knowledge of the logistics of doing so, and by excluding evidence that Bluford did contact Lincoln University regarding graduate work, among other factors. At the time, Bluford was the managing editor of the Kansas City Call and her effort to gain admittance to the masters degree program at MU's School of Journalism, and repeated denials due to her race, lead to a a series of lawsuits that eventually reached the Missouri Supreme Court.