Order Tentatively Approving Coffee County Compromise and Requiring Notice to Class; Order Denying Etowah County Motion

    IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE 

EL 7 as 

JOHN DILLARD, et al., ) sl 

Plaintiffs, ) 

vs. ) C.A. No. 85-T-1332-N 

CRENSHAW COUNTY, ALABAMA, et al., 3 

Defendants. ) 

ORDER TENTATIVELY APPROVING COFFEE COUNTY 
COMPROMISE AND REQUIRING NOTICE TO THE CLASS   

At a conference in chambers on July 16 , 1088, 
  

counsel for the Coffee County Plaintiffs and Defendants informed 

the Court that they had reached a final compromise and settlement 

of this action with respect to Coffee County and sought this 

Court's tentative approval of its terms. 

Under the terms of the proposed settlement, the parties have 

agreed to the entry of an injunction requiring that the elections 

for the Coffee County Commission be conducted from seven 

single-member districts, while allowing the incumbents to serve 

until 1988. 

The Court is of the opinion that the proposed consent decree 

filed with said joint motion is due to be and hereby is approved 

 



  

tentatively, subject to any objections by members of the class. 

Pursuant to Rule 23(e), Fed.R.Civ.P., notice of this 

proposed compromise should be given to the members of the class 

of black citizens of Coffee County, Alabama. 

Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that the Defendant Coffee 

County, Alabama, cause the notice attached to this order to be 

published in the Enterprise Ledger once a week for three 

successive weeks prior to __ August 15 , 1986. Maps of the   

districts shall be displayed in the county courthouse during 

normal business hours. 

It is further ORDERED that copies of the attached notice be 

provided by the Defendant Coffee County, Alabama, to 

representatives of all local radio and television stations and to 

all representatives of media and black community organizations in 

Coffee County who may request a copy thereof. 

Thereafter on August 22 > 1088, at 2:00 
  

  

o‘clock P .m., this Court shall conduct a hearing in the federal 

courthouse in Montgomery, Alabama, to consider objections by 

members of the class to the proposed compromise and settlement. 

DONE this l’thday of July , 1986. 

li 

  

    UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDEE~—_____ 

 



  

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

NORTHERN DIVISION 

JOHN DILLARD, et al., 

Plaintiffs, 

vs. C.A. No. 85-T-1332-N 

CRENSHAW COUNTY, ALABAMA, et al., 

Defendants. 

NOTICE TO CLASS   

TO: ALL BLACK CITIZENS OF COFFEE COUNTY, ALABAMA: 

In this class action brought by Damacus Crittenden, Jr., 

Rubin McKinnon, and William S. Rogers, on behalf of themselves 

and all black citizens of Coffee County, Alabama, challenging the 

election system for the Coffee County Commission, the named 

plaintiffs and the Coffee County Defendants have informed this 

Court that they wish to compromise and finally to resolve this 

lawsuit on the following basis. 

l. A final injunction would be issued against the conduct of 

further elections of the Coffee County Commission under the 

at-large election scheme provided presently by state law. 

2. Pursuant to the terms of the proposed consent decree, the 

 



  

Coffee County Commission will consist of 7 commissioners elected 

from single-member districts. The incumbent Probate Judge will 

serve out his current term as chair of the County Commission and 

chief administrative officer of Coffee County. Thereafter, the 

Probate Judge shall no longer re a member of the Commission, 

shall not serve as chair of the Commission nor as chief 

administrative officer of the county. 

3. Under the proposed settlement, the Bix Lacunbent at-large 

commissioners will be allowed to serve out their current terms of 

office. Their successors will be elected in the 1983 elections. 

In the meantime, a special election will be held in 1988, with 

special primary elections in September and a special general 

election in November, to elect a new commissioner from 

single-member District 5, which is the majority black district. 

The person elected in this special election will serve an initial 

two-year term, during which time he or she shall have all the 

rights, privileges, duties and immunities of the other incumbent 

commissioners. Commissioners will be elected from all seven 

single-member districts in 1988. When the Commissioners elected 

in 1288 take office, they will elect a chair of the Commission 

from among their own number each year. At that time, the 

Commission may appoint persons to carry out the day-to-day 

administrative duties of the County Commission. 

4. The parties have agreed to a plan for the seven 

 



  

single-member district boundaries. Maps showing the boundaries 

of the districts will be available for you to view during normal 

business hours at the Coffee County courthouses in Elba and 

Enterprise. 

5. Plaintiffs are the prevailing party in this action and 

are entitled to recover reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses. 

The amount of attorneys’ fees and expenses will be determined by 

the Court following final approval of the proposed compromise. 

Fees and expenses have not been part of the negotiations leading 

to this proposed settlement. 

6. The Court has tentatively approved the settlement of this 

case on the basis stated above. However, because this lawsuit is 

a class action, this Court has the responsibility of insuring 

that the interests of the entire class of black citizens of 

Coffee County are adequately protected before giving its final 

approval to the proposed settlement, accordingly, if any black 

citizen of Coffee County, Alabama, objects to the proposed 

compromise and final resolution of this lawsuit, he or she should 

set out the objection in writing, identify this case by its name 

and number and mail the written objection to Mr. Thomas C. Caver, 

Clerk of the United States District Court, Middle District of 

Alabama, P. O. Box 711, Montgomery, Alabama 36101, or deliver 

such objection to the Office of the Clerk, Second Floor, U. S. 

Courthouse, Montgomery, Alabama, on or before the 20th day of 

 



August , 1986. In addition, this Court will conduct a 
  

public hearing on the 22nd day of August , 1986, at 
  

2:00 o'clock, P..m., at which #ime it will consider all 
  

objections from members of the plaintiff class to the proposed 

settlement, whether made in writing or in person. 

DONE this [day of __ July 1086. 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT CLERK 

  

  

 



  

FILED 

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE 
JUL 171988 

FHOMAG C4 
i GIT BE 

NCD ITY Be 
DEF ~ CLERK 

MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA, NORTHERN DIVISION Jag 
45, ULE 

-y 

[S 

JOHN DILLARD, et al., ) 

Plaintiffs, 

Vv. ) CIVIL ACTION NO. 85-T-1332-N 

CRENSHAW COUNTY, etc., et al., ) 

Defendants. ) 

ORDER 
  

For good cause, it is ORDERED that the Etowah County defendants’ 

July 9, 1986, motion to exclude certain evidence is denied without 

prejudice. 

DONE, this the 17th day of July, 1986. 

  

UNITED STATES DISTRICT a