On June 25, 1963, Mary was in court and refused to answer a single question put to her unless she was addressed in the same courteous manner in which white witnesses were addressed.
During that time in the South, white witnesses were addressed with "Mr." And "Mrs." Titles, followed by their surnames, but black witnesses were addressed using only their first names.
Hamilton said, "My name is Miss Hamilton. Please address me correctly." When she persisted, the judge held her in contempt of court.She was sentenced to five days in jail and received a $50 fine.
During her time in jail, she was abused and threatened. She was told the harrassment would not stop unless she agreed to be called Hamilton in court. She was not deterred. She served her five days, but refused to pay the fine and appealed the contempt judgement.
The Supreme Court found in Miss Hamilton's favor and cited it's 1963 ruling in Johnson v. Virginia, in which it had held that "a State may not require racial segregation in a courtroom."
