Brief of Amici Curiae Brennan Center in Support of Appellants

    IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE 

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA 

SOUTHERN DIVISION 

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

CHARLES JOHNSON, JANET O. LeFLORE, 

JOHN L. 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, 

Plaintiffs, CIVIL ACTION 

VS. NO. 75-297-H 

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, 

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Defendants. 

SUPPLEMENTAL ANSWERS OF PLAINTIFF 

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. 495 

which should be retained in a constitutional system is elec- 

tion by a majority vote. As £5 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 

 



  

(bh) No, see (a). 

(c) Not necessarily. 

(d) 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)~1b) ‘Plaintiffs Qo 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- 

rogatory. 

(c)-(u) Plaintiff has no opinion. 

 



  

Appendix 

Appendix 

Appendix - 

Appendix 

Appendix 

Appendix 

-4 

 



  

  

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J. U. BLACKSHER 
GREGORY BY STEIN 

  

CRAWFORD & BLACKSHER 
1407 DAVIS AVENUE 
MOBILE, ALABAMA 36603 

EDWARD STILL, ESQUIRE 
SUITE 601 ~ TITLE BUILDIN 
2030 THIRD AVENUE, NORTH 
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA 35203 

Attorneys for Plaintiffs 

STATE OF ALABAMA ) 
; £588 
COUNTY OF MOBILE ) 

Personally appeared before me, the undersigned authority 

in and for said County and State, SANS T ND. le FLooe 
  

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

deposes and says that he 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 OB say of RAR, eS 3 

19 16 0. . 

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NOTARY PUBLIC, MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA 

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SEAL: 

 



  

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 
  

  

Interrogatories upon all counsel of record as listed below by 

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

Charles Arendall, Esquire 
David Bagwell, Esquire 
Post Office Box 123 
Mobile, Alabama 36601 

S. R. Sheppard, Esquire 
Legal Department 
City of Mobile 
Mobile, Alabama 356601 

A , C7 } 

<<. gent ES 1% 
J. U. BLACKSHER ~~ 
GREGORY BY STEIN 

  

CRAWFORD & BLACKSHER 

1407 DAVIS AVENUE 
MOBILE, ALABAMA 36503 

EDWARD STILL, ESQUIRE 

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

JACK GREENBERG, ESQUIRE 
JAMES NABRITT, ESQUIRE 

CHARLES WILLIAMS, ITI., ESQUIRE 
SUITE 2030 
10 COLUMBUS CIRCLE 

NEW YORK, MN. Y,. 10019 

 



APPENDIX A 

  

  

2. Yes. Dr. Walker B. LeFlore 
1358 Davis Avenue 
Mobile, Alabama 36603 
Age: 47 

3. Yes, Walker B. LeFlore, Jr. 

4009 Old Shell Road 
Mobile, Alabama 
Age: 23 

Burton R. LeFlore 
1358 Davis Avenue 
Age: 10 

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

(b) The house at 1358 Davis Ave. 1s owned 

by my husband's aunt; we pay no rent. 

(c) Answered in original answers. 

(4d) Ward No. 10; voting place at Davis 

Avenue; since I've been voting until last 2 elections. I 

have no other knowledge of this. 

(e) Democrat; since I've been voting. 

Husband: (a) He was born in Mobile. 

(b) My best recollection is as follows: 

1504 Chatague Street Lived with parents. 
1358 Davis Avenue see (b) under "self". 

{c) Yes. 
(i) My best recollection is 1949, in 

Mobile. 
(ii)=-(iii) No, not to my knowledge. 

(ad) same as (d) under "Self". 

(e) Democrat; since he's been voting. 

Walken Jr.: {a) 1953: 1953, 

(b) 1358 Davis Avenue Lived with parents 
University of So. Ala. lived on campus 
4009 Old Shell Road rents. 

{c) Yes. 
(i) 1974, Mobile, 
{ii)~{ii1) No. 

(d) Same "d" under self. 

(e) Democrat; since he's been voting. 

urton: (a) He was born here. 

(b) 1358 Davis Avenue 

(c) No. 

 



  

(1)-(iii) N/A. 

(8) N/A, 

{e) N/A. 

48, da): Yes. 

(b)-(c) My husband and I bought a certain piece of 

property on Stanton Road, ‘and shortly after the purchase the 

City of Mobile notified us that certain improvements had 

to be made. In September of 1974, I requested that Mr. Mims 

grant us a short extension of time in which to make these 

improvements and such extension was granted. 

In September of 1975, I presented Mr. Mims with 

a petition signed by a number of the parents from St. Catherine 

School, in which we reguested that the City allow the Catholic 

schools to continue to use Sage Park to play football. The 

City did so. 

64. No. 

65. (f) Answered in original answers. 

67. Yes. 

68. N/A. 

69. Yes. 

70. N/A. 

71. No. 

72. A decision to have an abortion is at least in part 

a decision based on finances--blacks, being generally poorer 

than whites, would more readily favor and seek abortions 

than would whites. 

73. Yes. 

74. N/A. 

75. I have no opinion. 

76. N/A. 

 



  

31. Yes. 

82, “N/A, 

833. No. 

84. A code that would allow an average white child to 

wear his hair in a "modern" fashion might well not permit 

a black to do so because of a difference in hair characteristics 

and tastes. 

85. (a) No. 

(b)=(c)- Yes. 

86. It is my opinion that whites of the described kind 

would prefer lower standards. 

87. Yes. 

88. N/A. 

89. Yes. 

90. N/A. 

9l. Yes. 

92. N/A. 

93. Yes. 

94. N/A. 

95. I have no opinion. 

96. N/A. 

97. Yes. 

08. N/A. 

90. Yes. 

100. N/A. 

101. Yes. 

102. N/A. 

103. Yes. 

104. N/A. 

105, Yes. 

 



  

130. .°8/5 

111. Yes 

112. N/A. 

i113. Yes. 

112.5 v/A, 

120. Answered in original answers. 

ils. "No. 

122, No. 

131. Bolden 10 or 15 years 
Hope 10 or 15 years 
John LeFlore 25 years 

Purifoy 10 years 
Smith 5 years 
Taylor 2 years 

134. No. 

135. Bo.