On Robert E. Lee's birthday, a state holiday in Virginia, the capitol buildings in Richmond were locked; arriving for work soon after 8 o'clock, the seven judges of the state Supreme Court had to send for an attendant to open the doors. In their conference room, they leafed through a 22-page decision, made some changes in language before they put on their black robes and, at 10:25, filed through blue curtains into a crowded, expectant courtroom. Chief Justice John William Eggleston, 72, tersely announced his majority decision (5 to 2) overthrowing the Virginia legislature's "massive resistance"...
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