March 2, 2021 is the 50th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision in the case in which BPJ attorney Charles F. Newman represented the opponents to the construction of an Interstate expressway through Overton Park and Midtown Memphis.
To mark the occasion, the Memphis Bar Association held a Webinar entitled The Case that Saved Overton Park in which University of Memphis law school professor David Romantz and Mr. Newman discussed the case.
Professor Romantz said it was one of the most significant and consequential decisions in the field of administrative law, and has long been the most cited decision in administrative law textbooks.
Mr. Newman described the more than decade long battle he and his clients had to wage to defeat the proposed project after the Supreme Court decision, which did not resolve the matter and was really the beginning of the fight not the end.
There have been a number of articles in local newspapers about this case and Mr. Newman’s career including:
Charlie Newman’s quiet influence profoundly changed Memphis:
https://dailymemphian.com/article/9414/charlie-newman-is-lawyers-lawyer-quiet-counsel-to
Lessons from the grassroots environmental victory at Overton Park: https://dailymemphian.com/article/20329/50th-anniversary-of-overton-park-decision
How a Supreme Court fight preserved Overton Park from I-40 and may have saved Midtown, too:
How grassroots advocacy saved a forest, park and neighborhood:
https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/opinion/2021/03/03/how-grassroots-advocacy-saved-forest-park-and-neighborhood/6890989002/