Years ago, I encountered United States District Judge William H. Barbour Jr. in an elevator in the old federal courthouse in Jackson. As I remember it, he looked at me and said:
“You are one lawsuit-filing dude.”
He was right about one thing: when I believed government officials or powerful institutions had violated constitutional rights, I was willing to confront them in court—often without a lawyer.
This page is my effort to reconstruct that history from surviving court opinions, dockets and Supreme Court records. It distinguishes lawsuits I filed from a lawsuit filed against me, and it identifies proceedings whose complete records have not yet been recovered.
The Two Petitions I Took to the United States Supreme Court
Giles v. Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc.
Supreme Court: No. 99-56; certiorari denied October 4, 1999; 528 U.S. 871.
From: Fifth Circuit No. 98-60660; S.D. Mississippi No. 3:97-CV-534-B.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans sued Confederate Initiative, Inc. and me over an emblem incorporating the Confederate Battle Flag. I defended the case and asserted a counterclaim. A jury found for the SCV but awarded only one dollar in damages. Judge Barbour imposed $21,666.61 in attorney’s fees against me. The Fifth Circuit affirmed the judgment, dismissal of the counterclaim and fee award.
Fifth Circuit opinion · Supreme Court order · My complete account
Giles v. University of Mississippi
Supreme Court: No. 01-109; certiorari denied October 1, 2001; 534 U.S. 890.
From: Fifth Circuit No. 00-60659; N.D. Mississippi No. 3:99-CV-125-P-A.
I filed a civil-rights lawsuit challenging the University of Mississippi’s ban on flagstaffs at sporting events. The district court entered summary judgment against me. The Fifth Circuit affirmed, concluding that the ban did not impermissibly restrict expressive conduct. I then petitioned the Supreme Court to hear the case.
Fifth Circuit opinion · Supreme Court order · Article, video and my account
Federal Lawsuits and Proceedings I Initiated
Giles v. McClendon, et al.
Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.
Docket: No. 3:99-CV-210-L.
A later federal filing confirms this caption and docket number, but the complaint, subject matter and disposition have not yet been recovered from an accessible online source.
Giles v. State of Mississippi, et al.
Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.
Docket: No. 3:01-CV-118-B.
A later federal filing confirms this caption and docket number, but the complete underlying record has not yet been recovered from an accessible online source.
Giles v. Ashcroft — Mississippi action
Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.
Docket: No. 3:01-CV-392-LN.
I challenged the constitutionality and continued application of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act to Mississippi. Chief Judge Tom S. Lee dismissed the case on September 27, 2001 for lack of standing and denied my request to transfer it to the District of Columbia. I did not appeal that decision.
Smith v. Clark
Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.
Docket: No. 3:01-CV-855-WS.
This was not a lawsuit I originated. On January 9, 2002, I moved to intervene in the congressional-redistricting case. The three-judge court denied my motion the next day.
Giles v. Ashcroft — District of Columbia action
Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Docket: Civil Action No. 02-0135 (JDB).
As an independent candidate for Congress, I again challenged Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act and also challenged the federal congressional-redistricting plan adopted in Smith v. Clark. Judge John D. Bates dismissed the amended complaint on April 8, 2002, citing standing, issue preclusion and jurisdictional grounds, and declined to convene a three-judge court.
Giles v. Neshoba County Fair Association — 2002 action
Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.
Docket: No. 4:02-CV-298-W.
I sought access to the Neshoba County Fair’s political forum while running as an independent candidate for Congress. Contemporary reporting states that I asked the federal court to order the Fair to let me participate in a Third Congressional District debate and argued that exclusion violated the First Amendment. The complete order and final disposition still need to be recovered.
Giles v. Neshoba County Fair Association and Kenneth Breland — 2005 action
Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.
Docket: No. 4:05-CV-124-LN.
I sought a preliminary injunction requiring the Fair to allow me to speak during its July 2005 political speaking days. Magistrate Judge Alfred G. Nicols recommended denying my request to proceed without prepaying the filing fee and warned that failure to pay could result in dismissal. The accessible filing does not establish the case’s ultimate disposition.
Giles v. Dedmon, et al.
Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.
Docket: No. 3:21-CV-766-CWR-LGI.
I brought civil-rights claims arising from my December 9, 2018 arrest and prosecution, alleging retaliation, false arrest, wrongful prosecution and due-process violations. Judge Carlton W. Reeves granted judgment on the pleadings to the governmental defendants in December 2022. The docket records final judgment in April 2023.
A State-Court Case Also Found in the Record
Giles v. Stokes
Court: Hinds County Circuit Court; Mississippi Court of Appeals No. 2007-CP-01075-COA.
I filed a pro se complaint against Jackson City Councilman Kenneth I. Stokes alleging malicious prosecution, abuse of process, false arrest, intentional infliction of emotional distress, libel and slander. I later sought to add a federal free-speech claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The circuit court denied amendment and dismissed the case; the Mississippi Court of Appeals affirmed on July 22, 2008.
What This Record Means to Me
I did not always win. I made procedural mistakes while representing myself, and courts often disposed of my claims without reaching what I believed was the central constitutional question. But ordinary citizens cannot preserve their rights by remaining silent whenever a university, political organization, government official or powerful private institution closes the door.
The record spans political speech, use of historic symbols, access to candidate forums, voting law, redistricting, false arrest and due process. The common thread is my belief that constitutional rights belong to ordinary people—not merely to those who can afford teams of lawyers.
Judge Barbour’s elevator remark has stayed with me. I accept it as a description of a citizen who was willing to file his own papers, enter the courthouse and demand that those in power answer to the law.
Sources and Continuing Research
- Fifth Circuit, No. 98-60660 (SCV litigation)
- Supreme Court order, No. 99-56
- Fifth Circuit, No. 00-60659 (Ole Miss litigation)
- Supreme Court order, No. 01-109
- Giles v. Ashcroft, D.D.C. Civil Action No. 02-0135
- Smith v. Clark docket
- 2005 Neshoba County Fair report and recommendation
- Giles v. Dedmon order
- Giles v. Stokes appellate decision
If you possess court papers or news reports relating to any of these proceedings—or know of a proceeding missing from this list—please contact me at giles@gilesshire.com.
Jimmy Giles
GilesForGovernor.com