Ex Parte Gene Mitchell Gray Motion for Leave to File and Petition for Writ of Mandamus; Brief in Support of Motion and Petition for Mandamus

    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 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, 

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 Jiserininated 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 Noblle'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 Hot fin 

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. , 

~~ 

 



  

64. See Appendix A. 

65.(f) See Appendix A. 

120. See Appendix A. 

128. See Appendix A. 

134. See Appendix A. 

135. See Appendix A. 

 



  

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GREGORY B/ STEIN 
  

CRAWFORD & BLACK ASHER 
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 ) 
$4288 

COUNTY OF MOBILE ) 

Personally appeared before me, the undersigned authority 

  

  

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in and for said County and State, Jf)l, 7+ C+ UF 1 /sils 8 

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

deposes and says that aA 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 409 day of (isis. s 

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19 /4 

(A Fv Cr RY 
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IC MOBILE sas. AT.ADAMA 
F 4 E 

NOTARY PU 
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 
  

T do hereby certify that on this the 20% day of January, 

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

Interrogatories upon all counsel of record as listed below by 

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 

{ i J 
2 Ca 34 

J. U. BEACKSHER 
GREGORY B./STEIN 

  

CRAWFORD & BLACKSHER 
1407 DAVIS AVENUE 

MOBILE, ALABAMA 35603 

EDWARD STILL, ESQUIRE 

SUITE 601 - TITLE BUILDIN 
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 

 



  

Ze Yes. 

3. No. 

4. Self: 

Husband: 

APPENDIX A   

Willie Wilson, Age 74, 1507 Hogan Street. 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(4) 

(e) 

(a) 

Answered in original answers. 

Grand Bay Living with parents. 
Locust Street Living with aunt. 
Congress Street Living with relatives. 
Rylands Lane Renting. 
Lexington Avenue Renting. 
Hogan Street Own. 

Answered 1n original answers. 

Ward #10, Voting Place at Davis Avenue, 
up-to 1975, 
MW-33-99-3, Mt. Olive Baptist Church, 
last two elections. 

No. 

My best recollection is that it was 

sometime in the 1930's. 

45. 

04. 

65. 

67. 

68. 

69, 

70. 

71. 

72. 

73 

74. 

75, 

765. 

(b) 

(c) 

{d)~{s) 

No. 

My best recollection is as follows: 

Congress Street Renting 
Gaston Street Renting 
1505 Hogan Street Own 

No. 
(i)-(iii) N/A. 

N/A. 

I have chosen not to do so. 

 



  

77. 

78. 

100. 

102. 

X03. 

104. 

105. 

106. 

 



  

X07. Yes. 

108. N/A. 

109, Yes. 

110. N/A. 

111, Yes, 

112. N/A. 

1137 Yes. 

114. N/A. 

120. Answered in original answers. 

128. Xo. 

122. Xo. 

331... Hope 5 years 
John LeFlore 25 years 
Maxwell 20 years 
Purify 20 years 
Scott 20 years 

134. No. 

135, Yes. Mr. John LeFlore: 

Life Office. 

7 or 8 months ago: Atlanta