Although the first stage of Massive Resistance to desegregation of Virginia's schools was over (which even included United States District Judge C. Sterling Hutcheson retiring from the bench rather than enforce Brown v. Board of Education), segregation remained.[4] Early in his long judicial career, Merhige ordered dozens of Virginia's public school systems to desegregate, and for a time was considered the most hated man in Richmond—under 24-hour protection by the United States Marshals Service and with weekly protests at his home, his mother-in-law's cottage on his property was burned to the ground, and his dog tied up and shot dead.[2] Black families moved into white urban neighborhoods in Richmond throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and by the 1970s white flight to suburbs in neighboring counties had left the Richmond city schools predominately black. In January 1972, Merhige ruled that students in Henrico and Chesterfield counties in Virginia would have to be bused to the Richmond city schools in order to decrease the high percentage of black students in Richmond's schools. Critics focused on Judge Merhige personally, including noting that his own children were enrolled in private school and thus unaffected by his order. One of Merhige's orders in that case was overturned by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals on June 6, 1972, barring most busing schemes that made students cross county/city boundaries, but not before influencing that year's presidential primary in Miami Beach, Florida.[5] (Note: Since 1871, Virginia has had independent cities which are not politically located within counties, although some are completely surrounded geographically by a single county. This distinctive and unusual arrangement was pivotal in the Court of Appeals decision overturning Merhige's ruling). Merhige's courage and strength of character, as well as his preparation, courtesy, dedication to the rule of law and respect for the litigants before him ultimately turned that hatred into deep respect.[6][7]
In 1970 Judge Merhige ordered the University of Virginia to admit women. He also clarified the rights of pregnant women to keep their jobs, and with United States Bankruptcy Judge Blackwell Shelley handled the complex products liability litigation and bankruptcy reorganization of the A. H. Robins Company concerning the Dalkon Shield.[8] Moreover, by 1988, some noticed that Merhige was one of the federal judges with the lowest percentage (5%) of being overruled by appellate panels.
In 1968 Merhige ruled that the conflict in Vietnam was a war, whether or not it was a declared war, and denied the request of 96 Army reservists to avoid that combat.[2] Judge Merhige also presided over the complex litigation concerning Allied Chemical's discharges of kepone and other chemicals into the James River, approving the creation of an environmental trust fund.
One recollection has him faithfully at a dry cleaners every Friday at the opening time of 8:00 am. Though the attendant was always late, he persisted, saying that, "Unbelievable, the control this woman has over a federal judge!"
In 2008, the new federal courthouse in Richmond (to which the district and bankruptcy courts and probation office moved) was named to honor Merhige and Spottswood Robinson III, who fought many desegregation battles in Virginia before also becoming a distinguished federal judge.[10][11] In 1993, the building where they had practiced as lawyers and judges was renamed the Lewis F. Powell Jr. United States Courthouse, after their longtime friend and colleague. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit continues to use that National Historic Landmark building. The Center for Environmental Studies at the University of Richmond School of Law is named in his honor, as is the moot court room.[12] The William Taylor Muse Law Library at the University of Richmond holds his papers in its special collections.[13]
