Correspondence from Russ to Blacksher with Draft Notice to Members of Defendant Class

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ALABAMA STATE HOUSE 

11 SOUTH UNION STREET 

MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA 36130 J) p 

AREA (205) 261-7300 L: R° 

Hon. James U. Blacksher 

BLACKSHER, MENEFEE & STEIN, P. 
405 Van Antwerp Building 
Post Office Box 1051 
Mobile, Alabama 36633-1051 

Dear Mr. Blacksher: 

Orrice OO TOE ATTORNE®GONERAL 

DON SIEGELMAN 

ATTORNEY GENERAL 

STATE OF ALABAMA 

March 27, 1987 

A draft notice to class defendants in Dillard is enclosed 
for your review. 

know of any objections. 

We will mail the notice, along with copies of 
relevant pleadings, on Wednesday, April 1, unless you let us 

Please advise me as soon as possible of any changes in 
your list of class defendants. 

SER:em 

cc: Mr. Larry T. Menefee 
Mr. Terry Davis 
Mr. Julius L. Chambers 

Mr. W. Edward Still 

Mr. Reo Kirkland, Jr. 

Sincerely, 

Ss 2 
SUSAN E. RUSS 
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL 

     



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

NORTHERN DIVISION 

  

JOHN DILLARD and HAVARD RICHBURG, 
of Crenshaw County; NATHAN CARTER, 
SPENCER THOMAS and WAYNE ROWE 
of Etowah County; HOOVER WHITE, 
MOSES JONES, Jr., and ARTHUR TURNER 
of Lawrence County; DAMASCUS 
CRITTENDEN, Jr., RUBIN McKINNON, and 
WILLIAM S. ROGERS of Coffee County; 
EARWEN FERRELL, C. L. BRADFORD and 
CLARENCE J. JAIRRELLS of Calhoun 
County; ULLYSSES McBRIDE, JOHN T. 
WHITE, WILLIE McGLASKER, WILLIAM 
AMERICA and WOODROW McCORVEY of 
Escambia County; LOUIS HALL, Jr., 
ERNEST EASLEY, BYRD THOMAS and 
POWELL REYNOLDS of Talladega County; 
MAGGIE BOZEMAN, JULIA WILDER, 
BERNARD JACKSON and WILLIE DAVIS 
of Pickens County, LINDBURGH JACKSON, 
CAROLYN BRYANT, and GEORGE BANDY, of 
Lee County, on behalf of themselves 
and other similarly situated persons, 

Plaintiffs, 

VS. CA NO. 85-T-13%2-N 

CRENSHAW COUNTY, ALABAMA, qua COUNTY; 
IRA THOMPSON HARBIN, JERRY L. 
REGISTER, AMOS McGOUGH, EMMETT LIL. 
SPEED, and BILL COLQUETT, in their 
official capacities as members of 
the Crenshaw County Commission; IRA 
THOMPSON HARBIN, in his official 
capacity as Probate Judge; ANN TATE, 
in her official capacity as Circuit 
Clerk; FRANCES A. SMITH, in his 
official capacity as Sheriff of 
Crenshaw County; ETOWAH COUNTY, 
ALABAMA, qua COUNTY; LEE WOFFORD, 

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in his official capacity as 

Probate Judge; BILLY YATES, in his 
official capacity as Circuit Clerk; 
ROY McDOWELL, in his official 
capacity as Sheriff of Ftowah County; 
LAWRENCE COUNTY, ALABAMA, qua 
COUNTY; RICHARD I, PROCTOR, in his 
official capacity as Probate Judge; 
LARRY SMITH, in his official capacity 
as Circuit Clerk; DAN LIGON, in his 
official capacity as Sheriff of 
Lawrence County; COFFEE COUNTY 
ALABAMA, qua COUNTY; MARION 
BRUNSON, in his official capacity as 
Probate Judge; JIM ELLIS, in his 
official capacity as Circuit Clerk; 

BRICE R. PAUL, in his official capa- 
city as Sheriff of Coffee County; 
CALHOUN COUNTY, ALABAMA, qua 
COUNTY; ARTHUR C. MURRAY, in his 
official capacity as Probate Judge; 
R. FORREST DOBBINS, in his official 
capacity as Circuit Clerk; ROY C. 
SNEAD, Jr., in his official capacity 
as Sheriff of Calhoun County; 
ESCAMBIA COUNTY, ALABAMA, qua 
COUNTY; MARTHA KIRKLAND, in her 
official capacity as Probate Judge; 
JAMES D. TAYLOR, in his official 
capacity as Circuit Clerk; TIMOTHY 
A. HAWSEY, in his official capacity 
as Sheriff of Escambia County; 
TALLADEGA COUNTY, ALABAMA, qua, 
COUNTY; DERRELL HANN, in his official 
capacity as Probate Judge; SAM GRICE, 
in his official capacity as Circuit 
Clerk; JERRY STUDDARD, in his 
official capacity as Sheriff of 
Talladega County; PICKENS COUNTY, 
ALABAMA, qua COUNTY; WILLIAM H. 
LANG, Jr., in his official capacity 
as Probate Judge; JAMES E. FIOYD, in 
his official capacity as Circuit 
Clerk; and, LOUIE C. COLEMAN, in his 
official capacity as Sheriff of 
Pickens County; LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA, 
qua COUNTY; HAL SMITH, in his 
official capacity as Probate Judge 
of Lee County; ANNETTE H. HARDY, in 
her official capacity as Circuit 
Clerk of Lee County; and HERMAN 
CHAPMAN, in his official capacity as 

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Sheriff of Lee County; the STATE 
OF ALABAMA; Don Siegelman, in 
his official capacity as ATTORNEY 
GENERAL OF ALABAMA; the TALLADEGA 
COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION, a 
political subdivision of the 
State of Alabama; and the CITY 
OF CHILDERSBURG, a political 
subdivision of the State of 
Alabama, 

Defendants. 

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NOTICE TO MEMBERS OF DEFENDANT CLASS 
  

This is to notify you that the above-styled civil action 

is pending against you and other class defendants in the United 

States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, 

Northern Division, (Thompson, J.). The suit was originally 

filed by a plaintiff class of black citizens against certain 

county commissions; the plaintiffs have now added as defendants 

Alabama municipalities and county boards of education employing 

at-large, numbered-post election systems that may, under recent 

court orders, violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 

1965, 42 U.8.C. § 1975. (A list of such jurisdictions, as 

designated by the plaintiffs, is included in attachments.) The 

State of Alabama and the Attorney General have also been named 

as defendants. 

The court has already awarded certain relief to plaintiffs 

under Section 2, against the Alabama county commissions origi- 

nally sued. Citing this state's "unrelenting historical agenda, 

 



  

spanning from the late 1800's to the 1980's, to keep its black 

citizens economically, socially, and politically downtrodden, 

from the cradle to the grave," Judge Thompson found 

preliminarily in Dillard v. Crenshaw County, 640 F. Supp. 1347 
  

(M.D.Al2.1986) (Dillard I), that the at-large voting systems 
  

under review were racially inspired, that they continue to 

reflect and constitute a pattern and practice of race 

discrimination, and that they have a present-day adverse racial 

impact. The court determined that venue was proper against the 

defendant counties, certified the plaintiff class, and awarded 

plaintiffs a preliminary injunction against continued use of 

the at-large systems to elect county commissioners. 

All of the defendant counties in Dillard I submitted 
  

districting plans in partial or complete settlement of the 

claims against them. In Dillard v. Crenshaw County, 649 
  

F.Supp.289 (M.D. Ala.1986) (Dillard II), the court reviewed 
  

some of those plans, accepting certain provisions but rejecting 

at-large election of county commission chairpersons, holding 

that the latter also constitutes a Section 2 violation. 

The plaintiff class now alleges that at-large 

numbered-post election systems used in your jurisdiction and by 

other Lue and County oards of e A were 

similarly enacted with discriminatory intent a d, thus, they 

violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. As a member of the 

defendant class added to this action, you may move to intervene 

and defend the cause separately or rely on the class 

representatives, named by plaintiffs as the Talladega County 

 



  

Board of Fducation and the City of Childersburg. In either 

event, if you do not settle you may be liable for attorney's 

fees should the plaintiffs prevail. 

The court has scheduled a class certification hearing for 

June 24, 1987. Petitions for exclusion from membership in the 

defendant class or challenges to the adequacy of representation 

should be filed with the court by June 16, 1987. Magistrate 

John Carroll will handle settlement proposals. Plaintiffs’ 

briefs on certification are due May 22, 1987, and defendants 

set to begin January 4 1988. jie) 

Counsel for the plaintiffs are BIacksher, Menefee & Stein, 

P.A., Mobile, AL. The Alabama Attorney General's Office is 

represented by Rosa Davis and Susan Russ. Copies of relevant 

documents are attached.