Supplemental Answers of Plaintiff Wiley Bolden to Defendants' Interrogatories

    IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE 

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA 

SOUTHERN DIVISION 

CITY OF MOBILE, ALABAMA; GARY A. 

GREENOUGH, ROBERT B. DOYLE, JR., 

and LAMBERT C. MIMS, individually 

and in their official capacities 

as Mobile City Commissioners, 

WILEY L. BOLDEN, REV. R. L. HOPE, * 

CHARLES JOHNSON, JANET O. LeFLORE, * 

JOHN IL. LeFLORE, CHARLES MAXWELL, * 
OSSIE B. PURIFOY, RAYMOND SCOTT, * 
SHERMAN SMITH, OLLIE LEE TAYLOR, * 

RODNEY O. TURNER, REV. ED WILLIAMS, * 

SYLVESTER WILLIAMS and MRS. F. C. * 

WILSON, 2 
3 

Plaintiffs, * CIVIL ACTION 
x 

v3. * NO. 75=-297-H 
* 

* 

* 

-* 

*% 

x 

le 

* Defendants. 

SUPPLEMENTAL ANSWERS OF PLAINTIFF WILE 

TO DEFENDANTS! INTERROGATORIES 
  

Undersigned plaintiff submits his supplemental answers 

to defendants' interrogatories propounded to each plaintiff 

on or about August 25, 1975, as Follows: 

2. See Appendix A. 

3. See Appendix A. 

4. See Appendix A. 

31. Plaintiffs do not claim that the City of Mobile's 

form of government has discriminated against any of the groups 

of persons referred to in interrogatories 6-30, except for the 

black citizens of Mobile. 

32. When the City of Mobile's form of government 

was instituted in 1910, it was the design and intention of 

those persons who constructed and participated in the Mobile 

government to dilute the votes of black citizens and deny 

them equal access to the political processes. Thus, the 

first discriminatory action was the institution of the City's 

 



  

present form of government; the names of the particular per-— 

sons having the described discriminatory intent are unknown 

to plaintiffs. Since the institution of the City's present 

form of government, the failure to alter or amend this form 

of government consitutes a continuing discriminatory omission. 

The names of all those persons who have supported this form 

of government, with its discriminatory effect, are unknown 

to the plaintiffs, and, indeed, it would be impossible to 

know and list the names of all such persons. A recent act 

evidencing the subject intentional discrimination was the 

opposition exhibited by Messrs. Doyle and Mims to the refer- 

endums that would have altered the City of Mobile's form of 

government. Additionally, all three of the present city 

Commissioners are parties to the continuing discriminatory 

omission, described above, of failing to alter or amend the 

City's form of government. 

41. (c)=-(y) Plaintiff has no opinion. 

43, Yes. Since blacks are generally poorer than 

whites, the filing fee required of candidates is a greater 

percentage of disposable income of potential black candi- 

dates than of potential white candidates. 

45. See Appendix A. 

50. The only factor mentioned above in No. 49 

which should be retained in a constitutional system is elec- 

tion by a majority vote. As to other factors, see my ori- 

ginal answer to this question. 

51B. (a) The Commission form of government implies 

a multi-member panel with (Executive and Legislative) powers. 

If such a panel were to have individually-assigned powers 

which were not jointly-held under the applicable law, then 

any plan of Commission government would still be an at-large 

system and thus unconstitutional given the prevailing political 

and racial situation in Mobile. 

 



  

(b) No, see (a). 

(c) Not necessarily. 

(ad) The Executive may be elected at-large. 

I know of no limitations of the Executive powers which con- 

cern this action. 

(e) The legislative body must have a suffi- 

cient number of members so that there is no invidious 

discrimination against political or racial minorities. At 

this point I do not know the exact minimum number. 

(f) In my opinion all members of the legis- 

lative branch should be elected from single-member dis- 

tricts. The principles for division would be lack of 

invidious discrimination against political or racial mi- 

norities. For the minimum number, see (e) above. 

(g) In my opinion, the requirement of a 

majority vote, isolated from other factors such as multi- 

member districts, is not unconstitutional per se. 

53. Yes, the use of at-large elections denies 

blacks a meaningful voice in city government and dilutes 

their voting power. 

53.(c) The problem with the type of election 

system proposed in (a) is the at-large voting factor, 

not the number of districts. Allowing all the residents 

of a political unit to decide who shall represent each 

district provides nothing but geographical dispersion, 

not locally chosen representatives. 

59. (a)-(b) Plaintiffs do not presently 

possess sufficient information on which to base an opinion 

on this matter. Plaintiffs may form an opinion when they 

acquire such information, in which case, defendants will 

be supplied with a supplemental response to this inter- 

rogatorye. 

(c)-(u) Plaintiff has no’opinion. 

 



  

See 

Appendix 

Appendix 

Appendix 

ellis 

 



  

  

  

(P hirory CA bein 
J. 4, FARSIER 
GREGORY BE. STEIN 

  

CRAWFORD & BLACKSHER 
1407 DAVIS AVENUE 
MOBILE, ALABAMA 36603 

EDWARD STILL, ESQUIRE 
SUITE 601 - TITLE BUILDING 
2030 THIRD AVENUE, NORTH 
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA 35203 

Attorneys for Plaintiffs 

STATE OF ALABAMA ) 
t.88 

COUNTY OF MOBILE ) 

Personally appeared before me, e i a 
SAL rd pA in 

in and for said County and State, ey it — [FA Lin, 
  

known to me, who upon being first duly ni by me, on oath 

or deposes and says that Z¢ ~ is informed and believes, and on 

such information and belief states, that the foregoing answers 

to interrogatories propounded by the defendants are true.       
Before me on this the Li day of NA ifr E27 : 

LA 

w 7 5 
i / | a 

fd Lait ZN 0772 eo 

  

     
  

NOTARY 1 PUBLIC, MOBILE\COUNTY, ALABAMA 

By Comm. Expires March 8, 1977 
———— 

 



  

  

T do hereby certify that on this the Y= day of January. 
  

1976, I served a copy of the foregoing Supplemental Answers to 

Interrogatories upon all counsel of record as listed 

depositing same in United States Mail, postage prepaid, or by 

HAND DELIVERY. 

Charles Arendall, Esquire 
David Bagwell, Esquire 

Post Office Box 123 
Mobile, Alabama 36601 

S. R. Sheppard, Esquire 

Legal Department 
City of Mobile 
Mobile, Alabama - 36601 

  

ste, HT or 

J. U. BIUACKSHER 
GREGORY B. STEIN 

  

CRAWFORD & BLACKSHER 
1407 DAVIS AVENUE 

MOBILE, ALABAMA 36603 

EDWARD STILL, ESQUIRE 

SUITE 601 - TITLE BUILDING 
2030 THIRD AVENUE, NORTH 
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA 35203 

JACK GREENBERG, ESQUIRE 
JAMES NABRITT, ESQUIRE 

CHARLES WILLIAMS, III., ESQUIRE 

SUITE 2030 
10 COLUMBUS CIRCLE 
NEW YORK, N. Y. 10019 

Attorneys for Plaintiffs 

 



  

  

2. Yes. Flossie Bolden, 55% Belsaw Street; Age: 57 

3. Yes. Wiley 5. Bolden, Atlanta, Ga.: Age: 57 
Benjamin H. Bolden, 455 W. Creek Cir., Mobile; 

Age: 54 
Carolyn L. Rhodes, 2302 Linda Drive, Nobile; 

Age: 50 
Doris Douglas, Los Angeles, Calif.; Age: 48 

4, Myself: (a) Answered in original answers. 

{L) Pine 3t. Boarded 
Caroline Ave. Rented 
Marmoth St. Rented 

Belsaw St. Own 

(c) Answered in original answers 

(d) The only ward I have been entitled to 

vote in is Ward No. 10, voting place on Davis Avenue. 

(e) Democrat; ever since I've been 

allowed to vote in the Democratic Primary. 

Wife: (a) November, 1962; November, 1962. 

(b) My best recollection of this is as 

follows: Texas Street Rentce 

556 Belsaw Street Owns with me 

ic) No 

(d) N/A 

(e) No 

Wiley S.: {a) 1924; 1924 

(b) Caroline Ave. Lived with me. 
Marmoth St. Lived with me. 

Belsaw St. Lived with me. 

{c) Yes. 

(i) Atlanta, Ga.; date unknown 

(ii)-(iii) Unknown 

(d) Unknown 

(e) Unknown 

Benjamin: (a) 1924; 1924 

{L) Caroline Ave. Lived with me. 
Marmoth St. Lived with me. 
Belsaw St. Lived with me. 
Monroe St. Lived with wife's parent. 
Creek Cir. Unknown 

 



  

{c) Yes. (1) Mobile: Date unknown 

(ii)=-(iii) Unknown 

(d) My knowledge of this is that he is 

presently voting in Ward No. 5, voting place on Stanton Road. 

(e) Unknown 

Doris: (a) 1928: 1928 

(b) Caroline Ave. Lived with me. 
Marmoth St. Lived with me. 

Belsaw St. Lived with me 

Unknown address in Maysville Rented 

{c) Yes. 

(i) Los Angeles, Calif.; date unknown 

(1ii)=-(iii) Unknown 

(d) Unknown. 

(e) To my knowledge, she considers herself 

a Democrat. 

45. No. 

04. No. 

65.(f) No. I was not familiar with his qualifications. 

(This answer mistakenly labelled "(e)" on original answers.) 

67. Yes. 

68, . N/A 

69 I have no opinion. 

70. N/A 

71. I have no opinion. 

72. N/A 

73. I have no opinion. 

74. N/A 

75. I have no opinion. 

76. R/A 

77. “Yas 

78. N/A 

72. I have no opinion 

80. N/A 

 



  

82. N/A 

83. I have no opinion. 

(d) I have no opinion. © 

87. I have no opinion. 

83. N/A 

89, Yes, 

90. N/A 

Ol. “Yes 

52, N/A 

93. . Yes 

94, N/A 

96. N/A 

97. I have no opinion. 

98. N/A 

99. Yes 

100. N/A 

101. TI have no opinion. 

102. WN/A 

103. "Yes 

104. N/A 

105. Yes 

106. N/A 

107. Yes 

108. N/A 

108. Yes 

 



  

110. N/A 

lil. Yes 

112. N/A 

113. Yes 

114, ®/A 

120. Answered in original answers. 

128. No 

129. I have spoken generally with a number of persons 

about the substnace of the interrogatories; however, I 

have talked with no one, other than my lawyers, about the 

matters that were pertinent to the preparation of my answers 

thereto. 

131. Rev. “Hope 10 years or more 

Janet LeFlore 10 years 
John L. LeFlore 50 years 
Purifoy 20 years 
Scott 50 years 

- Smith 40 years 
Taylor 10 years 
Ed Williams 40 years 
S. Williams 10 years 

134. No 

135. No