Originally from Selma, Alabama, U.S. Senior Circuit Court Judge Truman M. Hobbs was a young lawyer when he moved to Montgomery in the mid-1950s. He took a job with an established law firm. However his work took an unexpected step into Civil Rights history when he was hired by the Montgomery City Lines bus company after their lawyer resigned in 1956; he resigned because the economically battered bus company had agreed to accept the federal courtsí final ruling to integrate the buses. Hobbs became their lawyer in the aftermath of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

On April 4, 2005, two seniors from BTWís Creative Writing magnet went to the federal court complex in downtown Montgomery to interview Judge Hobbs about his experiences and about the era. From behind his large desk, he told the students about long-gone days when tempers flared and every debate was a passionate one.