Lawrence County Defendants' Response to Request for Admissions

    IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA 

NORTHERN DIVISION 

JOHN DILLARD, et al., 

Plaintiffs, 

Ve CASE NO. 85-T-1332-N 

CRENSHAW COUNTY, ALABAMA, 
et al., 

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Defendants. 

LAWRENCE COUNTY DEFENDANTS' RESPONSE TO 
REQUEST FOR ADMISSIONS 
  

Defendants Lawrence County, Larry Smith and Dan Ligon, 

respond to Plaintiffs' Request for Admissions as follows: 

I 

DEFINITIONS 
  

1. "Lack of information or knowledge" means that these 

Defendants can neither admit nor deny the stated matter because 

the necessary information is not known to them and not readily 

obtainable by them, after reasonable inquiry. In this regard, 

it is the position of these Defendants that they are not 

required by F.R.C.P. 36 to, for example, request documents and 

records from the Alabama Department of Archives and History in 

order to make a good-faith response to Plaintiffs' Rule 36 

requests, * 

Re "Admitted with following comment(s)" shall constitute 

a qualified admission as permitted by F.R.C.P. 36.  



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II 

GENERAL OBJECTION 
  

Although they will respond below to the specific 

paragraphs of the Request for Admissions, these Defendants 

adopt the objections stated by Defendant Escambia County in its 

"Response to the Request for Admissions" served February 20, 

1986. 

III 

Responding to the particular paragraphs of the Request, 

these Defendants say as follows: 

Denied. 

Lack of information or knowledge. 

The "Boswell Amendment" required that the person be 

able to read and write, understand and explain any article of 

the Constitution of the United States. Otherwise, paragraph 3 

is admitted. 

4. In Davis v. Schnell, 81 F.Supp. 872, 876 (S.D. Ala. 

1949) the Court noted that "during the incumbency of the 

defendant board [Board of Registrars of Mobile County] that 

more than 2,800 white persons have been registered and 

approximately 104 negroes." The Court also noted that 

subsequent to March 1, 1948, 65 colored applicants were 

registered and 57 were rejected. Otherwise, paragraph 4 is 

admitted. 

5 Admitted, except last sentence (lack of information 

or knowledge).  



  

6. Lack of information or knowledge. 

7. Admitted, except last sentence (lack of information 

or knowledge). 

S. Admitted with following comment: 1963 Ala. Acts 417 

provides that the state board of examiners for voter 

registration will grade the voter examinations and that in no 

event shall the intelligence level of the applicant be less 

than that required to serve as a member of the armed forces of 

the United States; with regard to last sentence, lack of 

information or knowledge. 

9. First sentence admitted; with regard to second 

sentence, lack of information or knowledge. 

10. Admitted. 

ll. Admitted. 

12. Admitted. 

13. Admitted. 

14. Admitted. 

15. Admitted with following comments: Ala. Const., 1901, 

Article XIII, §256 provides for separate schools for white and 

colored children. Amendment 111 allows the legislature to 

authorize parents or guardians who desire their minor children 

to attend schools provided for their own race to do so for as 

long as the legislature may provide. 

16. Admitted. 

17. Admitted. 

 



  

18. Admitted. However, this law provided for the 

creation of a board of education for the town of Browneville. 

19. Admitted. 

20. The Alabama School for Negro Deaf and Blind was 

consolidated with the Alabama School for the Blind. Otherwise, 

paragraph 20 is admitted. 

21% See response to paragraph 15 above. 

22. See response to paragraph 15 above. 

23. Admitted. 

24. Admitted. 

25. Admitted. 

26. Admitted. 

217. Admitted. 

28. The Ala. School Code §482 (1927) allowed only white 

boys and young men to enroll at the Alabama School of Trades 

and Industries. Ala. Code, Title 52 §443 (1958) allowed white 

male and female persons to enroll. Otherwise, paragraph 28 is 

admitted. 

29. The Ala. School Code §510 (1927) restricted admission 

to Alabama College at Montevallo to white girls or women. Ala. 

Code Title 52 §466 (1958) allowed any white boy or girl, man or 

woman, to enroll. Otherwise, paragraph 29 is admitted. 

30. The State Training School was created for delinquent 

white girls. Otherwise, paragraph 30 is admitted. 

31. Admitted. 

 



  

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32. Admitted. 

33. These Defendants are without sufficient knowledge or 

information to admit or deny when the first black graduated 

from the University of Alabama Law School. Otherwise, 

paragraph 33 is admitted. 

34. Admitted with following comment: 1949 Ala. Acts 489, 

p. 710 allowed the State Board of Education to contract with 

Tuskegee Institute, Meharry Medical College and any other 

nonsecular institutions of higher learning either within or 

without the state. 

35. Admitted. 

36. Admitted. However, see response to paragraph 15 

above. 

37. Ala. Code, Title 52 §297 (1958) contains no provision 

allowing parents to choose a one-race school. Otherwise, 

paragraph 37 is admitted 

38. Admitted. 

39. Admitted. However, the board's decision to 

discontinue the operation of any public school could be made 

only after a public hearing. 

40. 1971 Ala. Acts 2301 increased the number of 

scholarships to thirty (30) and the amount of the scholarship 

from two hundred ($200.00) to six hundred ($600.00) dollars. 

Otherwise, paragraph 40 is admitted. 

41. Admitted. 

 



  

42, Admitted. 

43. Admitted. 

44. Admitted. 

45. Admitted. 

46. Admitted. However, the Alabama Supreme Court 

dismissed the petition for certiorari for insufficiency of 

petitioner's allegations and again on procedural grounds. 

NAACP v. Alabama, 357 U.S. 449, 454 (1958). 

47. Admitted with following comment: The Alabama Supreme 

Court affirmed its decision on the ground that the U.S. Supreme 

Court was mistaken in considering, that with the exception of 

its membership list, the NAACP had produced and complied with 

the production order of the lower court. NAACP v. Patterson, 
  

268 Ala. 531, 109 So0.24 138 (1959). 

48. Admitted. 

49, Admitted. 

50. Admitted. However, the first citation should read 

NAACP v. State of Alabama, 274 Ala. 544, 150 So.2d 677 (1963). 
  

51. Admitted. 

52. Admitted. 

53. 1866 Alabama Penal Code §62 provided for a fine of 

not less than $100.00 nor more than $1,000.00 and the possible 

imprisonment in the county jail or a sentence of hard labor for 

the county for not more than six months. Otherwise, paragraph 

53 is admitted. 

 



54. Admitted. 

55. Admitted. 

56. Admitted. 

57s Admitted. 

58. Admitted with following comment: 1865-1866 Ala. Act. 

86, p. 98 provides that negroes shall be competent to testify 

in open court in cases where freedmen, free negroes or 

mulattoes are parties, in civil and criminal cases for injuries 

to person or property of freedmen, free negroes or mulattoes 

and in all cases, civil or criminal in which a freedman, free 

negro or mulatto is a witness against a white person, or a 

white person against a freedman, free negro or mulatto. 

59. First two sentences admitted with following comment: 

1876 - 77 Ala. Acts 182, p. 190 replaces the sheriff, probate 

judge, and circuit clerk with 5 commissioners appointed by the 

governor as the body to compile the list of jurors in the 

counties of Montgomery, Lowndes, Autauga, Dallas, Perry and 

Bullock; with respect to remainder, lack of information or 

knowledge. 

60. Admitted. 

61. Lack of information or knowledge. 

62. Admitted. 

63. Admitted. 

64. Admitted. 

65. Admitted.  



66. 

67. 

68. 

69. 

70. 

171i, 

72. 

73. 

74. 

Admitted. 

Admitted. 

Admitted. 

Admitted. 

Lack of information or knowledge. 

Admitted. 

Admitted. 

Admitted. 

Admitted. However, the citation should be to Section 

29 rather than 28. 

75. 

76. 

77. 

78. 

79. 

80. 

Lack of information or knowledge. 

Lack of information or knowledge. 

Admitted. 

Admitted. 

Admitted. 

Admitted that Democratic Party normally uses run-off 

primary elections for County Commission races; however, to the 

best of these Defendants' knowledge, Republican Party has not 

used primary elections in Lawrence County. 

81. Denied. 

82 - 93. Lack of information or knowledge. 

94. 

95. 

96. 

97. 

Denied. 

Lack of information or knowledge. 

Lack of information or knowledge. 

Lack of Information or knowledge.  



98. Lack of information or knowledge regarding studies; 

  

otherwise denied. 

99, Denied. 

100. Denied. 

101, Denied. 

RE Ir mb / 
DP. L. Martin 
  

215 South Main Street 

Moulton, AL 35650 

(205) 974-9200 

Aa 2- Ba 
David R. Boyd UU 
Attorney for Defendants 
Lawrence County, Alabama, 

Larry Smith and Dan Ligon 

  

BALCH & BINGHAM 

P.O. Box 78 
Montgomery, Alabama 36101 
(205) 834-6500 

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 
  

I hereby certify that I have served the foregoing Lawrence 

County Defendants' Response to Request for Admissions, upon all 

counsel of record listed below by placing copies of same in the 

United States Mail, properly addressed and postage paid this 

24% ay of February, 1986. 

    
Pace Z Bal — 
OF COUNSEL 

 



  

Larry T. Menefee, Esq. James W. Webb, Esq. 
James U. Blacksher, Esq. Webb, Crumpton, McGregor, 

Wanda J. Cochran, Esq. Schmaeling & Wilson 

Blacksher, Menefee & Stein 166 Commerce Street 

405 Van Antwerp Building P. O.- Box 238 
P. O. Box 1051 Montgomery, Alabama 36101 
Mobile, Alabama 36633 

Terry G. Davis, Esq. Lee Otts, Esq. 
Seay & Davis Otts & Moore 

732 Carter Hill Road P. O. BOX 467 
P. O. Box 6125 Brewton, Alabama 36427 
Montgomery, Alabama 36106 

Deborah Fins, Esq. B. OO. Rirk, Jr., Esq. 
Julius L. Chambers, Esq. Curry & Kirk 
NAACP Legal Defense Fund Phoenix Avenue 
1900 Hudson Street Carrollton, Alabama 35447 
l6th Floor 
New York, New York 10013 

Jack Floyd, Esq. Barry D. Vaughn, Esq. 
Floyd, Kenner & Cusimano Proctor & Vaughn 
816 Chestnut Street 121 N. Norton Avenue 
Gadsden, Alabama 35999 Sylacauga, Alabama 35150 

H. R. Burnham, Esq. Alton Turner, Esq. 

Burnham, Klinefelter, Halsey, Turner & Jones 
Jones & Cater P. O Box 207 

401 SouthTrust Bank Building Luverne, Alabama 36049 
P. O. Box 1618 

Anniston, Alabama 36202 

Warren Rowe, Esq. D. L. Martin, Esqg. 

Rowe & Sawyer 215 S. Main Street 
P. O. Box 150 Moulton, Alabama 35650 
Enterprise, Alabama 36331 

Reo Kirkland, Jr., Esq. Edward Still, Esq. 
P. O. Box 646 714 South 29th Street 
Brewton, Alabama 36427 Birmingham, Alabama 35233-2810 

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