Memorandum of Alliance to End Childhood Lead Poisoning; Correspondence to Rules Docket Clerk
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April 29, 1991
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Case Files, Bozeman v. Pickens County Board of Education. Transcript of Trial, 1988. 0335e4d8-f192-ee11-be37-6045bdeb8873. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/f2fff678-3ea7-4125-a899-39d48c749753/transcript-of-trial. Accessed August 19, 2025.
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IN TTIE DISTRICT COURT
}IORTEEru.T DISTRICT OF AIABAI4A
WESTER}I DTVISION
MAGGIE S. BOZEIJIAN, ) cv- 87-P-225I-r,r
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Plaintiff, ) Tuscaloosa, Alabama
)
vs. ) August 31, L988
)
PICKENS COUNTY BOARD OF ) 9:OO A. M.
EDUCATION, et aI. r )
)
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TRANSCRIPT OF TRIAL
BEFORE HON. SAI{ C. POINTER, JR.
APPEARAT'lCES;
FOR TTIE PT,AI}trTIFF: HO}I. JOE R. T.IIIATLEY, JR.
Attorney at Law
409 21st Street North
Bi rmingharn, At 3 52 03
FOR T}IE DEFENDANTS: HON. RAY T.IARD
Attorney at Law
2024 University Boulevard
Tuscaloosa, AL 35402
COURT REPORTER: Penny L. Enr:ch
325 Federal Courthouse
1729 Fifth Avenue North
Birmingham, At 3 5203
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wttLesses Dtrect Cross RFdiE Recross
Rebecca Neira 6 I
Maggle Bozenan 11 23 40
I{n. I^I. Cargnnter 45 54 64 65
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Lenwood ttolllman 67 73
Wm. L. Rice 77 83 85 86
Ra1ph Srnith 88
Jack Pate 90 92
Nancy Fair 93
Jerry H. Parhan 95 96 L02
Findings of Fact 106
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T83}IJ]IG sEs_sJ_ou
flIE COURT,. 87-2251, Maggie Bozeman versus pickens
county Board of Educatlon. This matter is set for triar at
this time. As a result of conference rvith counsel in advance
of this hearing, and in the absence of a formal pretrial
order, r think it's appropriate that r first indicate certain
clarifications to the claims and defenses made.
First, the plaintiff has acknorrrledged that it, is not
pursuing Count 4 of the indictment -- excuse me, of the
complaint; and that as it, relates Eo count 3 of Lhg complaint
and its allegations that l''lrs. Bozeman was terminated and not
reinsbated because of her race, the plaintiff has no evidence
to support that claim; and accordingly, it will not be
pursued.
counsel have also indicated that the primary focus of the
craims being pursued by l'Irs. Bozeinan relate not so much to the
terrnination itself, but to the failure of the clefencj;rnts t.o
reemploy or reinstate her, or grant her a hearing on
reemployment or reinstatement in 1984.
I think that's a f air characterization of the ciranges in
position as a result of discovery and pretrnration for trial..
Let me see if plaintif f 's counsel lsoulci conf irm that as an
accurate statement of the matters to be presented to the
Cour t.
I.lR. I.'IIIIITLEY: Yes, si r, with only the cl arif ication
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r9B4 and thereafter, as you will see from some plaintifft s
Exhibits there was further communications even in 1985.
TIIE couRT: wellr that relates to the f ailure to
reemploy, reinstate, or grant a hearing regarding reemployment
reinstatement --
IVIR. I{IIATLEY; Yes, si r.
THE CCURT: -- in 1984 or later.
I'lR. WHATLEY: Yesr sir.
THE COURT: A11 right. The parties have marked for
identification certain exhibits. t{rs. Irtiles, would you glve
me the starting and ending numbers of the exhibits marl<ed by
the plaintiff and by the defendants?
TIIE CLERK: Plaintif f I s Bxhibits --
TFIE COURT: It appears that lJxhibits 1 throuqh 35
have been marked for the plaintiff; and Exhibits 1 through
as additional exhibits hal,e been marked for the defenclant.
I Lake it tlraL these eshii:itsr ds li sted, may be sholn
offered by the parties and received by Lhe Court r,rithout
objectioni is that fair?
l'lR. i,II{ATtEY: Yes, sir, your Ilonor.
I,IR. t{ARD: Thatrs correcL, ycur [Jonor.
THE COURT: A11 right. f take it, however, that as
it relates to the delrcsiEions listed by the plaintiff--which
consist clf excerpts fro:n depositions--the defendant, hcruever,
is requesting that the Court receive not only the excerptsr
as
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but the entirety of those depositionsi is that correct?
MR. I,IARD: It does, your llonor.
fHE CffJRT: fs there any objection to that by the
pl ai. ntif f ?
MR. IJ}IATLEY: No, sir.
fHE CotrRf: A11 right. Those will be received. Do
counsel believe any further opening statement, so to speak, is
appropriate or helpfulr or are you ready to proceed simply
wlth the presentation of evidence?
l4R. I{HATIJEY: tet me clarify one thing, your Honor.
I{R. WARD: Your Honorr I need to offer Mrs. Bozemanrs
depositlon as an exhibit, I wish to do that.
THE COURT: All right. Letts shcr*r l,1rs. Bozemanrs
deposition as Defendantsr Exhibit ttunrber 5r drd it will be
received without objection by the plaintiff.
I.lR. WHATIEY: Your Honor, in ansvuer to the Courtrs
questions fron the plaintiff's standpoint, I believe vre should
go forl{ard with the evidence. I think }rou have Ehe positions
of the parties.
I''lR. I'JAP.D: I think we have discussed it in chamlrerst
your Honor.
THE COURT: All right. ff the plaintiff, then, is
ready to present evidence.
I{R. I,II{ATLEY: The plaintiff would call Becky I'Ieira.
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I{ei ra./Di rect
REBECCA - lrEI RA; -PI)AIbITIFI" I' S -IIITNESS ;'' SI,IOBN
DIRECT' EXAMTIIATTON
BY -l{B; -t{rr&TrsY:
Q. Irlhat is your job, I{rs. Neira?
A. Irm Uniserve Director for the Alabama Education
Association.
0. And vrere you a Uniserve Director for the elabama Education
Assocation back in 1979?
A. Yes, I vtas.
Q. ,fust to sinplify matters, a Uniserve Director is a person
who acts on behalf of AEA in representing teachers who are
members of AEA?
A. Thatrs correctr in the field.
Q. I{as one of the counties you erere serving, or one of the
AEA units, the Pickens County unit back in 1 97 9?
A. Yesr it was.
Q. In early L979, did you r.rork with I'lrs. Bozernan on a matter
that she had ryith her principal?
A. r did.
0. And, did that involve signing in?
A. It did, yes.
Q. And did you have a conference with l4rs, Bozeman and her
princi pal ?
A. Thatr s correct. [Irs. Bozeman caI]ed ne and indicated to
me that she had received notification regarding --
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Q. Signing in?
A. signing in, as it was a problern. And I called and made
an appointment f or a conf erence with I'lrs. Bozeman and her
pr i nci pal , I'lr . F.i ce , and me.
Q. Tell the Judge what happened in that conference.
A. When we met, it was established that there was a great
deaL of difficulty getting into the litt1e smaLl area where
the sign-in sheet vras located in the office in the morning,
because pencils and erasers and notebooks hrere sold ln that
6ame area to students. And the children were going in there
before school to purchase these things, plus the entire
faculty was trying to get in there.
At the time, there was also a faculty member who was
wheelchair bound. And when she was in that oEedr it was
virtual-ly impossible for anybody to geE in that area. It
wasnrt that 1arge.
So, as a result of the conference, we all agreeci that the
sign-in sheet vrould be placed in another area that was more
easily accessible to the entire faculty; either the library or
the foyer area.
And, it was my understanding that the issue had been
resolved. I was not contacted again that there was further
problems rvith it,.
I'lR. hIHATLEY: Thatr s all.
THE COURT: Cross-examination.
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IIei ra./Cross B
C ROSS- B XAI'I I IIAT I OI.I
BY.I,JR; 9IARD:
Q. l,lrs. I'Ieira, did you discuss this matter urith
Superintendent Bill Carpenter of the Pickens County Board at
the time?
A. No, sir. ft was resolved at the building leve1 with l{r.
Rice.
Q. Andr did you discuss this matter with lrtr. Rice?
A. Yes, sir, we had a conference.
Q. Did Mr. Rice teII you at any time that l,lrs. Bozeman had
failed to sign in after he had discussed it with her on more
than one occaslon?
A. The way it was explained to me was that --
e. I,Iho explained, when you say nthe wayn? I{hat did Mr. Rice
teI1 you then?
A. f!r. Rice told me that his issue -- the issue was not that
she isasn't there, but that she wasnlt signing in at the
beginning of the sclrool day. Sire was signing in later on in
the school day.
0. You understood that was a requirement for each teacheri
did you not?
A. The school board policy at that time, as I understand --
as I remember it -- vras being at, school a certain -- at a
certain time.
O. Do you know whether or not l'1r. Rlce had a rule at
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Neira/Cross
Aliceville Elementary School that his teachers r{ere to sign in
before a certain time every morning?
A. The issue that I was called up there to deal with and that
we discussed was signing in in the morning. Thatr s correct,
Yes, sir.
Q. And your you were representing l:,trs. Bozeman when you
went up therei were you not?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And Mrs. Bozeman called you?
A. Thatrs correct.
Q. Sher s the one that related these facts to you about the
problem she was having slgning inl isnrt that correct?
A. Yesr sir. l4r. Rice also told rne that he was aware that
she was in the building on time, but that she wasnr t slgning
in, that that was the lssue. He shared that with us in the
conference.
Q. That she was not signing in according to a school rule;
isntt that correct?
A. I -- if thatr s the term you want to usor that, was the
issue. Yes, sir. The problem rrres signing in.
0. And this was a problem that didnrt happen just one or two
times, vras it, l{rs. Neira, according to the information you
were given?
A. I -- according to the information that I received was
that -- and f sav, a copy of a communication of some sort --
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0. Did you see a letter from the superintendent?
A. f rom l,lr. Rice. From the superlntendent?
O. To l.lrs. Bozeman?
A. I thought that it was a letter from lrlr. Rice. But I could
be wrong, because that was a good while ago.
Q. Do you remember what the letter said?
A. It concerned signing in on -- at the beginning of the
school day.
Q. And
A. And that -- there was some question about whether or not
ltlrs. Bozeman i.ras doing that at the beginning of the school
day.
Q. Did you keep a copy of that letter?
A. No, sir, not now. I had a file at, one time. I no longer
have that districtr and so I do not have those files.
IvtR. IVARD: Thatr s all, your l{onor.
TIIE COURT: Any redirect?
IUR. I',IllATtEY: No, sir.
THE COURT: l'trould it be fairr l,Irs. Neira, to state
that as t,o vrhether there were any problems about signing in
after the agreement to move the sign-in sheets to another
locationr fou have no knowledge of that?
THE TIITNBSS: Thatrs correct. Nor sir.
TIIB COURT: Any additionaL examination?
I,IR. I.IARD: lJo, si r.
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TIIE COURT: A11 right. You may step down and you are
fu1Iy excused and discharged. Thank you.
(witness excused)
PIR. IfHATLBY: Cal1 }IrS. Bozeman.
MAGGJE'' BOZEIITAN; -fHE - Pr.AIr{TIFF ; - S}IORN
prREcT:EXATJINATTqN
BY.MR; .I{HATLEY:
Q. How old are your Dlrs. Bozeman?
A. Fifty-nine.
Q. trlhat is your race?
A. B1ack.
Q. l.!rs. Bozeman --
MR. IfIIATLEY: May I approach the witness, your Honor?
THE COURT: Sure1y,
Q. I'm going Eo show you rvhatrs in evidence as the third page
of Plaint.if f t s E;rhibit 31. Is this a suniunary of your work
history with the Pickens County Board of Education?
A. Yesr it is.
Q. You started working there back in 1947?
A. Thatr s correct.
Q. And worked there until you first Look the leave of absence
in November of 1979?
A. Thatrs corroct.
Q. You had a leave back in the early r50s when you had your
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child; is that right?
A. Thatr s correct.
Q. And otherwise, urorked every year during that period of
time?
A. Thatf s correct.
Q. During that period of time, Mrs. Bozeman, e/ere you
evaluated year t,o year?
A. Yes, I was.
Q. And what kinds of evaLuations did you receive?
A. Favorable.
MR. WARDr Your Honor, Itm going to object, unless
she has those evaluations.
THE COURT: I'm going to overrule --
IrtR. [{ARD: Since --
tHE COURT: -- on the basis thatt it relates to
collateral issues not directly involved under Rule 1004(4),
the originals need not be presented to prove the contents of
docunents that are only collatera1ly related to the issues in
the case.
Q. You may ansr./er, IrIrs. Bozeman. What kinds of evaluations
did you receive over the years?
A. Favorable.
Q. Did you ever recelve an unfavorable evaluation in those
thirty some odd years?
A. No, I did not,.
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Q' Ifere you ever told over that period of time from rg,7to
:o. ,rr:rJ;'
""'1d be terminated ir vour job perrormance did
A. llo, I was not.
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ever suspended rrom emprovmenr durins thar period
A. llo, r was not.
Q. you have heard Hrs. Neirars testimo
A. yes.
P ucu.lflorlli have You not?
0. And were you present in the conference that she describedwith the principal?
A. Yes, I hras.
Q. After that conference, was there evr
signing in?
e"ste ever any problem about
A. No, it was not. ft was soLved.
o' okay' trfere you ever given 6py kind of oral 0r rvrittenreprimand after Hrat pointZ
A. llo.
Q' Did you ever refuse to submit lesson plans to yourprincipal ?
A. No, I did not.
O, Did you refuse
A. IIo.
O. Diri you take part
A. ltany.
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to subrnit continuing education plans?
in continuing education?
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Q. Did any official of the Pickens County Board of Education
ever te1l you that you tt/ere being insubordinate?
A. No.
Q. In connection with education, Mrs. Bozeman, vrhat degrees
do you have?
A. A BS from State University, Alabama State University now;
a masterrs degree from the State Unlversity of lowa; Ioroa
Cityr lowai and a degree in social studies from Alabama State
University.
Q. WhaL certifications do you have for teaching in the State
of Alabama?
A. tA n.
Q. llave you ever had any other certif ications?
A. No.
Q. Vihat does that mean to have an nA' certification?
A. I'ieLl, in education, just about the highest that we geti
unless we get a Doubl€ Ar Ph. D.
Q. Thatrs a masterrs level?
A. ftrs a masterrs. Yes, it is.
0. Are you certified to teach in elementary schools?
A. Yes, I am.
Q. Have you ever received any awards for your teaching in
Pickens County?
A. t4any.
0. And can you give the Judge some examples?
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Bozeman/Direct
A. One example -- I cantt recall the year, but I can get
it, -- f was cited for excellence in teaching by the
nlnstructorn magazlne and by the Association of Classroom
Teachers, and a few others.
Q. Have you ever received any commendations from local
groups?
A. Yes.
0. Can you give the iludge some examples?
A. From tlme to timer f would have resource people come into
the cLassroom. Mrs. ttitchell was working with the Health
Department slde of it within the school on a Title f. And she
was one that would come lnto the classroom to explain the
dental importance for children.
Also, from l.Irs. Leatherwood, frorn -- if f f m not rnistaken,
would come into the classroom to serve as resource people.
Q. I{ere you active in loca1 teacher organizations?
A. Very.
Q. i'Jere you active -- have you been active politlcally in
Pickens County?
A. Yes, I have.
Q. Describe for the Judge your political activity ln Pickens
County before L979.
A. We had vrhat we call the Voters League that was Prlor to
the Alabarna Dernocratic Conference. Af ter the Alabama
Democratic Conference, vre became affiliated vrith the alabama
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Democrat,ic conference, which is called the Alabama Democratic
conference of the Pickens county voters League. rrm serving
now, and was then, the coordinator of that league.
Q. And tshat is the -- what does it mean to be the coordinator
of that league?
A. ftt s really saying what itr s saying. It bring together
groups rvithin the organization and assign different groups to
a responsibility. An example, l.ike to get out to vote.
Ife ryould meet and assign different names to different
precincts of different avenues or differenL streetsr so that
they can go in those different areas and identify people vho
would need transportation to the pol1s; people who are
incapacitated, people who are disabledr or people who have --
need assistance at the polIs.
lJumber tvro, they vrould meet again af ter they bring that
information bacli. tr{e vrould look for drivers, a person who
rvould have a car, or try to get Lhr: transpori.ation ir: suppJ.y
those people of whom they had idenLified.
0. I'ihat -- for the record, iirs, Bozemanr whal! is the /Llabana
Democrabi c Conf erence?
A. Itr s a political organization vririch r.ras organized f or
blacks to have a more and a better involvement and an
effective involvement in the political process.
0. Iiavc you been active in the locaI unit of the IJMCP?
A. Yes, VGry. iLeally, itr s the only Chapter in Pickens
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County.
Q. Have you continued to have sirnilar political activities
since 1979, similar to what you have described before?
A, Yes.
0. Have you been acEive in race -- in political races for
seats on the Pickens CounLy Board of Education?
A. Yes.
0. Were you actlve in that in L9787
A. Yes.
Q. Describe that activity, generally, for usr
A. Through the organizatlon of the Voters League, rre
encouraged, and we asked for a person to run for the Pickens
County Board of Education. A young lady by the nane of tlinnie
Donna Hil1, which was trventy-seven years old at the tirner
agreed to run for the seat. on the Pickens County Board of
Education from that district.
0. trlhat district is that?
A. Flight have been 2, since the district I Lhink it was 2
at the time.
Q. And is that in the Aliceville area?
A. Yes, it is. It is in the precinct area of 19.
Q. Is that the seat that Mr. Park has held?
A. Yes, it is.
Q. And did she run in 1978?
A. Yes, she did.
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Q. As a result,, or -- r,rere you prosecuted for voter fraud as
a result of your activity in the ]-97B political campaigns?
A, Yes, f was.
Q. And on Friday morning, November 2nd, 1979, did a jury
there in Pickens County return a guilty verdict finding you
guilty of voter fraud?
A. Yes.
Q, Did that afternoon, did you recelve a call from the man
who was then the superintendent of the goard of Education of
Pickens County?
A. Yes, I did.
Q. trlhat did he say to you?
A. It was about seven or clock, because after the verdict had
been reached, we were getting ready to go to a meeting. And
another person answered the phone. And f was told they said
they wanted to speak to I'lrs. Bozeman.
I'ihen I got to the phone, he said to me, "This is l'Ir.
Carpenter. Irm calling to 1et you knoru not to return to
Aliceville Elementary School. rr And I said to hirn, "why?n And
nl{hat? n
He said, "Yes, not to report on that campus out at
AlicevilLe Elementary School. I'm telling you norrr, and you
will get a cert,if ied letter tomorrow morning. n
I said, nYou tncorlr l'1r. CarpenLer, I cannot go back oul:
there ancl get my material, all ry professional material out
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Boz eman/Di rect
there, and some personal items?n He said, "I said no. n And I
did not go.
0. Did you then challenge your conviction through appeals and
lat,er through a habeas corpus petition?
A. Yes, I did.
Q. Now, Mrs. Bozeman, the -- through documents, I think we
have described in detail the process before the board, and I
donr t want to get into that -- but, there was a board hearing
held in January of t.9B2 and I think we have agreed that you
had notice about, that board hearing.
My question to you is, why did you not attend that board
hearlng?
A. ft was my feeling, since r was dismissed and had been
charged guilty in the courti that it rvould not mean anything
to me to attend a hearing, because we trere sti1l challenging
the conviction.
So, I didnrt see ruhere it would be meaningful to me to go
to the hearing, because the conviction yet was standing.
Q. And in April of 1984, did Judge tiobbs on your habeas
corpus petition set aside the conviction?
A. Yes, he did.
Q. Thereafter, did Solomon Seayr ds your attornefr write the
board and request that you get your job back?
A. Yes, he did.
Q. giere you present at the board meeting whetr that -- Solomon
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Seayt s letter was read?
A. Yes, f was.
Q. What happened?
A. The lett,er was presented to the board members, and as I
recollect, Irlr. Parks authorized the attorney to respond to
that communication.
Q. Now' where do you live in relationship to the Aliceville
Elementary School where you taught all those years?
A. As I say all the time, a skip and a hop. It may be a
block across the street.
Q. How did you get to the school when you were teaching
there?
A. WaIked.
Q. Have new elementary teachers been hired at that school
since 1984?
A. Yes.
Q. How far have you had to commute for your ennployment since
1984?
A. From my door to the school doorr it's betr.reen twenty-five
and tvrenty-eight miles.
Q. And hovr many school days are there each year?
A. 180.
Q. Did you drive that distance?
A. Yes, I did.
0. The evidence is that -- I mean, itrs undlsputed you
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retired from the sumter county school system at the end of the
t86-87 school year?
A. Thatrs correct.
Q. Why dld you do that?
A. I was tired of driving and getting up earlier. Usually I
like to get to school fairly early before the students get
there, So, it was just too early for me and I just decided
not to do it.
Q. Would you have retired if you had been teaching a block
from your house?
A. Doubt iE very seriously.
t4R. tlIARD: f tm going to object to that. Ilt s
self-serving and --
THE COURT: I overrule. She will be permitted t,o
express her opinion and give her statement subject to any
cross-examina Eion.
However, I*Irs. Bozeman, when you 6ee the attorney standing
up over here, please donrt anslrer the question until I have
had a chance to see what he may have to say. Because he
apparently had an objection, you already gave your ans-!'rer
whi}e he was t,rying to get his objection in. So, just pause
and delay if you see him standing.
But you now may ans:wer the questlon again. Would you have
retired if you had been at the Aliceville School?
fHE WITNESS: Doubt it very seriously, unless I had
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some health problems.
Q. And do you have any health problems?
A. I'lot to my knowledge.
Q. Okay. How did it make you feel when you were not put back
to work af ter that requesE r,ras made in 1984?
A. Terrible.
Q. Why do you say that?
A. frve said all along openly that, itrs just hard for r€r as
an individualr os a human being, as a professional person who
had taught for years and who have dealt in the association,
rvorked for many years and having attended the Board of
Education for many years, to Look at human beings--especially
males--who have families, and who serve in a leadership
position, to deny a professional person a job whom they had
worked for twenty-five years.
ftrs just hard rvorking to believe that, that a human being
rr,ould deny another human being the op1>ortunity to serve girls
and boys. Itrs very hard. Itrs hard for me to describe my
feelings about it, and it's something that f dontt think I'11
ever overcome.
l,lR. I,ll{ATtEY: Your Honorr w€ would ask that you take
judicial notice that the IRS authorizes tvrenty-one cents a
mil e.
TIIE COURT; A11 right.
I\lR. IVHATT,UY: Other than that, I have no f urther
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questions at this time.
TI{E COURT: Cross-examination.
cRossiExAtlINATION
BY. MR] ."WARD:
Q. I*lrs. Bozeman, you live ln the AIiceville district?
A. Thatrs correct.
Q. Mr. J. V. Park is the board member fronr that district?
A. Thatr s correct.
Q. Do you know how long !lr. park has been on the Board of
Education?
A. From readlng the deposition, twenty-nine years.
Q. Some time in the 1950s he was elected or appointed to
that?
A. From the deposition, 1959.
Q. All right. And you started teaching in | 47?
A. Thatr s correct.
Q. Is I,1r. Park a Republican or Democrat, to your knowledge?
A. I understand a Republican.
Q. Do you know if he has ever qualified to run as a Democrat
in Pickens County --
A. llot to my knorvledge.
Q. for any office? Has he been reelecE,ed to the Board of
Education since 19597
A. Yes, he has.
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Q. How many times have you gotten--or your organization--
gotten candidates to run against I{r. Park?
A. About four, possibly.
Q. All right. Wou1d the last time be 1978, I think you
earlier described?
A. No, that wasnf t the last, time. It rvas -- another person
has run since 1978.
Q. A11 right. Do you know what was the first election that
you got somebody up to run against him?
A. f donr t recaIl the year.
Q. Have you ever gone to Mr. Park personally and told him
that you were going to get somebody to run against him?
A. No, I have not. I did not.
Q, Mrs. Bozeman, isnrt it a fact that l,tr, Rice regarding
this sign-in problem -- isnrt it a fact that tlr. Rice
contacted Superintendent Carpenter?
A. Yes, he did, by letter.
Q". rn your deposition, you recall describing this sign-in
problem as a t'misunderstandingx?
A. I donrt knol ruhether the term "mLsunderstanding" would
apply to actually what rea1ly transpired.
Q. fsnr t it a factr lrlrs. Bozeman, that therer s a school rule
thab each teacher sign ln before 7t45 each morning?
A. Yes, it is.
Q. And isnt t it a fact that you were not signing in before
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7:45 each morning?
A. That's correct.
Q. And isnr t it a fact that your principal counseled with you
on several occasions about slgning in on tinre each morning?
A. No, he did not counsel with me. I got the communication.
0. Did l,lr. I{illiam Rice ever telI you he rsanted you to come
on and sign in according t,o the school rule?
A. No, not to my knowLedge.
Q. Okay. So, your testirnony is, the first knowledge that you
had that there was a problem, you got some sort of
communicatlon?
A. Thatts correct.
0, And Ehis came from the superintendent?
A. llo, came f rom the principal.
Q. All right. The princip:l. He wrote you a letter?
A. Thatrs correct.
Q. Did you keep tirat, lett,er?
A. Usually, I do,
Q. Do you still have Lhat?
A. f donrt knor.r rshether I have it today or not. I donf t know
whether I stiIl have the letter.
Q. Do you know if you have looked for it since this case was
f iled?
A. Yes.
Q. I{ere you able to find iE?
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A. No. I dont t have that at my fingertips, but I should be
able to get it.
Q. Isn I t it cor rect, l'lrs. Boz eman, that the probl em wasn I t
solved even af ter the letter fronr your principal, but that I'1r.
Cartrrenter, the superintendentl had to become involved?
A. Thatrs correct. It vlas not solved, because the situation
remained.
Q. All right. And when you say nsituatior", the situation
being that you vrere not, for what,ever reasons, signing in
before the required tlmei isnr t that correct?
A. Thatr s correct.
Q. And your principal is I'lr. William Ricei isnrt it?
A. Thatrs correct.
Q. Mr. Rice is seated here in the courtroom?
A. Thatt s correcL.
Q. And, teIl me how many Letters you got from the
superintendent regarding this.
A. It might have been trro.
Q. So, the superintencientt foc ruhatever reason, wrote you
perhaps trvo letters regarding this sign-in?
A. I would think so.
Q. tlrs. Bozeman, did the superintendent in iris letters
instruct you to sign in according t,o the school rules and
policy?
A. Yes, sir, that was the contents of the letter.
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0. And after he wrote you the first letter, did you comply?
A. The sit.uaLion remained at the school.
0. So, for whatever reasonr [ou did not comply with the
signing in as you were inst,ructedi is that correct?
A. ThaErs correct. fhe situation remained.
Q. All right. The superintendent vrroEe you a second letter?
A. Thatr s correct.
Q. In that l.etter, did he, in fact, vrarn you that if you
failed to follorp the instructions to sign in according to
policyr that he would have to bring the matter to the
attention of the board?
A. I dontt knorv line-by-line whether it was explained 1il<e
that. But I do reca11 that ln some of the phraseology of it,
it was stated that he would notify the principal to make
notation of it if it continued.
And aL that point, and a little prior to that, that's r,rhen
f contacted the Uniserve Director.
0" So, this problem nrent f rom the principal to the
superintendent to the point where the Uniserve Director became
involved?
A. Yes, where I asked for help to file a grievance.
0. All right. I,Irs, Bozeman, you have been aslied quite
bluntly by your attorney vrhether or not you ever failed to
submit rveekly lesson plans. Let mc asir you some questions
about that.
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Do you understand that it was a recluirement at the
Aliceville Elementary School that each teacher would submit a
lesson plan each week to the principalts office?
A. Thatr s correct.
Q. And this would go to the principalts office?
A. Thatrs correct.
Q. And tell me what day of the week it was due.
A. I donrt recollect rowr but I think it was first, of the
week on l,londays.
Q. All right.
A. Or Fridays, prior to the next week.
Q. Friday before the next weeki is that correct?
A. Thatr s correct. Friday or the Monday.
Q. Do you understand that thls was a rule that came from the
Board of Education to the principal?
A. Yeg.
Q. And is it your testimony that you provided a lesson plan
to your principal in accordance with those rules?
A. It is t,rue. fn my training at the State University of
Iosra, I always have submitted to ansqer your question --
Lesson plans. But we would have a daily guide.
And for a long period of time in Pickens County, we did
not have teacher editions to do lesson plans. And it vras --
r{e $rere taughtr and it was recommended where there were not
teacher editions, thaE we do a simple daily teaching guide.
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And this is what f prepared, pa9e, what we would discuss, and
out,line of the subject matter for that partigular day.
0. A daily teactring guide --
A, A daily teaching guide.
Q. is what youtre -- so your testimony is you complied
with thls weekly lesson plan requirement by providing a daily
teaching guide?
A. Thatrs prior to the teacher editions.
0. When did the teacher editlons come out relative to
November of 1979 when you were suspended from cl.ass?
A. I donr t recollect the year.
Q. Would it have been one year, two years, several years
prior to that?
A. Irm really not certain. But we finally got teacher
edi tlons.
Q. Is it your testimony, thenr Mrs. Bozeman, thaE your
principal, I,ir. !{illiam Rice, never came to you to LeI1 you
that. you were not complying with this ruIe, and that you had
to get a t'reekly lesson plan in on time?
A. llo.
Q, tle never did?
A. llo, noE a lesson plan. I dontt have any communication
from him to that effect.
Q. ltrhen I say ocomnunicationn, thatr s either verbally he came
to you or he wrote you a memo or a }etter, or anything to that
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effe ct?
A. No.
0. Now, regarding professional developnent plansr do you
understand -- tell nre what a professional developrnent plan is,
as you understand it.
A. A continuation of trying to update your educatton.
Q. And was this a requirement,, to your knowledge, from the
State Board of Education to the loca1 boards that each teacher
would supply this each year?
A. Yes, it was.
Q. And was there a form that. you were Eo turn in to the Board
of Education with your lesson plan -- I mean, with your
professional development growth plans?
A. I think it was.
0. And, do you understand you turned these in to the
principalr s office before the end of school each year?
A. Ifell, I would turn mine in not the end of the year, but
whenever I would atLend professional meetings, I rqould turn it
in so that it coulcl get in my file.
Q. Did you understandr ['trs. Bozeman' thaE you were to turn
these plans in beiore school was out for the summer?
A. Yes. And may I repeat, I would not wait until the end of
the school. Whatever professional neetings r would attend, I
vrould then turn that f orm in.
Q. I'IeI1, these prof essional meetings that you I'rould attend,
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they r.rould be during the summer break; ruouldnrt they?
A. tiot all of them.
Q. Not all of them?
A. No.
Q. IrIouId you turn in these plans ahead of time, or are you
saying you turned them in after you would attend some
conference?
A. After I had att,ended the conference.
0. Mrs. Bozeman, did Assistant superintendent Horliman ever
discuss with you the fact that you were not complying with
turning in the professional developnent plans?
A. I do recall maybe once or twice he sald something about
it, and I asked him to check my file because I had sent them
in and I had brought some in.
Q. And, you recall at least once or tryice he came to you --
A. l.laybe.
Q. to talk to you about it? I,Irs. Bozeman, did Assistant
SuperinLendent Holliman -- v/e understand that's Lerx,rood
IIol l iman?
A. Yes, thatt s his name.
Q. Mr. Iiolliman sitting there in the tan coaL in the
courtroom; is he not?
A. Yes.
Q. I.{rs. Ilozeman, did I,{r. Holliman ever te1l you verbally or
in writing at any time that you reere not complying vrith the
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rule regarding professional developnent plans?
A. ltrever in r.rriting. tlaybe once or twice. And I repeat, f
said to him, 'Check my file, because f have turned them in',
and have hand del ivered some t,o him.
0. And is it your testimony, I{rs. Bozemanr that you f uIIy
complied with the rule regarding turning in professional
developr,ent grolrth plans?
A. Very much sor stacks on stacks of professional
developnent. I,lay I add, I will assume I attend more
professional conference egual to any person in Plckens County.
Q. I'lrs. Bozemanr was this a mat,ter that was discussed with
the teachers each year at the Teacher rnstitute?
A. Yes. About, professional developnent?
Q. Yes.
A. Yes.
Q. And this was something -- this r{as a meeting that occurred
beginning of the school year?
A. Yes.
Q. This rras a mandatory meeting that everyone attendedt ot
was supposed to attend; am I correct?
A. The Teachers Instit,ute?
Q. Yes.
A. Yes.
Q. Do you know if l,tr. Ilolliman would be the person who spoke
to the teachers about professional developnrent plans?
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A. Yes, he was one of them. The principal also would make
mention of them from time to time to update your profession.
0. At the time that the Pickens County Board Education -- let
me back up, excuse me -- after you $rere suspended, when l,lr.
Cartrnnter calIed you that evening, November 6th, did you
receive a letter from him regarding the boardr s intention to
hold a hearing?
A. Yesr I did, a certified letter.
0. All right.
A. As he stated by phone.
Q. And do you recalI the letter containing certain charg€sr
including the fact that yourd been convicted of a felony?
A. Thatr s correct.
Q. And the other charges that were in the letter2 do you
recall thern being what we already discussedr matters
concerning the signing in and lesson plans and professional
developme nt ?
A. Thatrs correct, vrhich r'rere false"
Q. All right. l{rs. Bozeman, did you present to the board a
lett,er requesting a leave of absence?
A, Yesr I did.
Q. Do you recall also requesting that the board hold these
charges in abeyance pending your appeal of your conviction?
A. Thatt s correct.
Q. And what. was the length of time that, you requested the
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Bozeman/Cross 34
board to grant you a leave?
A. Time -- I may not remember all the time -- but it was not
to exceed the appeal, and rvould not e:<ceed over one year,
maybe.
Q. Did you receive a let,ter back f rom Superintendent
Carpenter confirming the boardr s --
A. Yes.
0. -- act,ion?
A. r did.
0. Did the board, on that occasion of the first request for
leave of absencer they grant you leave?
A. Thatr s correct.
Q. They granted it for not more than a yeary did they not?
A. Thatrs correct.
Q. Did you also, as part of that leave --
THE COTJRI: Let me just remind counsel, of course,
that vre have already receiveci the various letters; and at your
off er, I,1rs. Bozemanf s deposition has been receivedr aod she
has acknowledged --
i{R. WARD: f rvonrt go through step by step, your
Honor"
Q, l,Irs. Bozeman, one point, then: As part of the request for
leave of absence, did you also tender a conditional
resignaLion to the Board of Education?
A. That! s correct.
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O. And was that conditional resignation that if your appeals
rrere denied, that you would resign as a teacher?
A. Thatr s correct.
PlR. WHATLEY: Your Honorr the conditional resignatlon
is in evidence and is the best evidence of itself, exactly
vrhat it says.
rHE COURT: Well --
MR. WARD: In her deposltion, Lt I may, your Honor,
lt was -- vre went back and f orth.
fHE COURT! I would certainly agree that the letters
say what they say. If counsel wishes to exanine her about
those, he may.
Q. In L981, did you understand that, your appeals to the Court
of Criminal Appeals of Alabama and the Suprenre Court of
Alabama had been denied?
A. Thatr s correct.
Q, And your abtorneys had also requested the Supreme Court of
the United States to review your case; did they not,?
A. Thatr s correcE,.
Q. And that Court denied review; did it not?
A. Refused to look at it.
Q. At the time that you at the time of the expiration of
the second leave of absence, did you have any appeals pending
in any Federal or State Court?
A. Itm sure it was. Repeat tlrat, please.
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Q. At the time that your second year of leave of absence
expired--which vrould have been tlovember-December of 1981--did
you have any appeals or challenges to your convict,ion pending
in any Federal or State Court?
A. frm not guite sure, but I know we went to the last leveI.
Irlors, if this was after it had gone to the Supreme Court, then
f would say no.
Now, if it had gone to the Supreme Courtr we had exhausted
every appeal.
Q. Thatrs the United States Supreme Court?
A. Thatrs correct.
Q. All right. And you received a letter requesting that you
confirm your conditional resignation; did you not?
A. If the record so shor{ that.
Q. At any time, did you confirm with the Board of Education
that because your appeals had been exhausted in the Federal
and State Courts on your conviction, that you rrrould tender
your resignation?
A. If the records shcrw that.
O. You have no independent recollection t.hat you did that?
A. Not rea}ly. But if the reccrd shots it, I did.
Q. I.Irs. Bozeman, again, as of January 8, 1982 r you understand
the Board of Educa{:ion terminated your employment?
A. Thatr s correct.
Q. T.f f understood your testimony earlier, you said you did
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not attend the hearing that day because you $rere sti11
challenging your conviction?
A. Thatrs correct.
Q. Te1l me and the Court, at that timer January 8, L|BZ, what
court you had filed any sort of proceeding in to challenge
your conviction.
A. r said all along maybe it rsas not in court at that tirne.
But we vrere golng to explore every possibility so the truth
could come out from the conviction,
Q. Do you know whether there $ras any other challenge or
appeal filed after the supreme court of the unlted states
denied review and before you filed before Judge Hobbs in
I'lontgomery?
A. Not, to my knovrledge.
Q. Do you know when that was filed in I'tontgomery?
A. The exact year, maybe -- I canrt recall the exact date an<l
year.
i'IR. IIARD: Your Honor, f donrt know that we have
that.
THE COURT: I,IeII, I think the Court can take judicial
notice, based on the filing nurnber that it was in 1984.
I'lR. I'IHATLEYT tB3, your Honor.
TI{E COURT : I r m sof, r} r 19 83 .
IJIR. T.[TIA?LEY: Yes, sir.
THB COURT: 1983.
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Q. Do you knor,r, I'lrs. Bozeman, if you had anything else f iled
between January of I B2 and the time it was filed in 1 gB3?
A. Not to my knowledge.
Q. Did you ever notify any of the board members or the
superlntendent that you were chaLlenging your conviction by
filing something before Judge Hobbs?
A. No' I did not.
Q. Other than the letter that Attorney Solomon Seay wrote to
Superintendent Parham in August of 1984, did you ever go to
any Board of Education member or to Superintendent Parham to
discuss being reemployed by the Board of Education?
A. Nor I did not.
0. As I understand, you vrere present at the board meeting
when the letter from Mr. Seay was read in the open board
meeting; were you not?
A. Thatr s correct.
0. Di<i you respond, or did you request an opportunity to
respond
A. I{o.
0. to that?
A. llo. Nor I did not. And you were present there, too,
counsel or.
Q. Yes, maram. And if f understood your testimony, you said
I.1r. Park authorized the attorney to respond?
A, Thatr s correct.
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Q. Do you recall any vote being taken at that time, Irlrs.
Bozeman, that the board was denying your reemployment?
A. Nor f donr t reca1l any vote belng taken. If I recollect,
I think you went into executive session that night.
Q. Are you sure of that, llrs. Bozeman, or are you speculating
as to that?
A. Itm not positively sure.
Q. If the minutes donr t reflect an executive session -- you
think maybe they went in to executive session?
A. Yes. But I do recall Mr. Park authorizing you to respond
to the letter.
Q. Okay. lrlrs. Bozeman, did you -- at any tlme prior to that
August 20, 1984 board meeting at which }tr. Seayr s letter was
read -- did you ever request that the board grant you a new
hearing?
A. No, I did not.
Q. Do you know if IrIr. Seay or any other att.orney on your
behalf asked the board or requested that the Board of
Education grant you a new hearing?
A. Not to my knowledge.
Q. tlas the board, to this dater €V€r ref used to grant you a
nev, hearing regarding your employment?
A. I have not asked for one.
Q. I,trs. Bozeman, here today, do you maintain that any member
of the Board of Bducatlon or oDy of its past superintendents--
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Superintendent Carpenter, parham, now Superintendent Smith
had anything to do with your being prosecuted in 197B-79?
A. I would think not.
l,lR. I,IARD: I think that I s al l .
THE C0URT: Any redirect,?
I'lR. WHATLEY: Yes, your Honor.
RED I RECT. EXAITI I NAT ION
BY-MB; *WHATI,EI:
Q. l.Irs. Bozeman, when you were questloned about the sign-in
matter, several times you said the situation remained. Ivly
question to you is, what situation remained?
A. The concession, as I said all the tlme--or the selling of
the paper, the pencils and et cetera--and that was not soLved
until the Uniserve Directorr Becky Neira, my principal, Mr.
Rice, and I had the conference. After that conference, that
rtras cleared out and we moved on.
Q. VIas there anymore problem about signing in?
A. None whatsoever that I an aware of, or I was alrare of.
Q. On the professional development issue, did you come over
here to the University of Alabama for various professional
development programs?
A. I.lany timesr yes.
8. Did you go other places for professional development?
A. Yes.
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Q. And rvhen you did, did you fill in a form and give it to
your principal?
A. Yesr f did"
IilR. IiI{ATLEY: That,r s all.
THE COURT: I have one area of examination, l,Irs.
Bozeman. You indicated in your testinrony that in L97Bt I'ls,
Hill agreed to run for a Board of Education positionr and you
described that as the positlon that I'tr. Park held; is that
correct?
THE [f ITNESS : That I s cor rect, your Honor .
THE CCIIRT: And then you indicated that Mr. Park was
a Republican.
I notice that the election that was involved in the
prosecution related to the Democratic runoff election. I{as
1,1r. Park, back at that time, a Democrat or vras he a
Republican, or what?
THB I{IT}IESS: I.lo. He ran in irlovember, but the girl
still lras opposed by him in November. The Democratic primary,
she qualified. Then he qualified for the November.
TIIE COURT: A11 righL. Then the election that was
involved in the voter fraud prosecution was not an election in
whichr in effect, your candidate r.las running against [.Ir. Park;
as f understand it?
THE }IITNESS: If I understand you correctly, she ran
as a Democrat in the primary.
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she
be
in
Tl{B COTJRT: She was simply -- in the runoff election,
uras running against some other Democrat, to see who vrould
the nominee of the Democrat party for purposes of running
Novemberi is that correct?
THE WITNESS: I would thinK So.
THE COURT: So, although there has been some talk
about running against Mr. Park--at least in that elect,ion--it
was running against a Democrati that was what was involved ln
that election?
THE I,IIrNBSS: ]Ie11r she was unopposed in the, you
know, in the Democrat.
fi{E COURT: Okay.
THE WITNESS: She didnr t have opposition in the
primary.
THB COURT: Then maybe this is a way of, getting at
1t. The election in which you were prosecut.ed for voter f raud
didn I t have anlzthi.ng to do with I{s. }tiIl runni ng against tlr.
Park, it related to sorne other campaign or activity;ls that
cor rect ?
THB I{ITI'IESS: Idellr I ruas in -- I was actively
invoLved in that primary and in the general election.
THE COURI: But the prosecution related to alleged
voter f raud in the prirnary; isnrt that correct?
TIIB I',IITNBSS: Thatr s correct.
TIIE COURT: So, I.lr. Park didnrt have atry involvement
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or interest, in any rvay in that; did he?
THE WITNESS: I{eII, f couldn I t say.
THE CfiIRT: Andr whatever you r,rere alleged to have
done in connection with the votes in the Democratic primary
didnrt have anything to do with t4s. Hillts running against l,tr.
Park, because she wasnr t even on the ballotr &s r understand
it, ln that runoff election; is that correct?
THE WITNESS: Maybe it is, your Honor. frn not sure
whether her name was on the ballot at that time or not, during
the November -- Ifm not sure.
IHE CCIrRT: Any additiona]. examination?
MR. WIIATLEYI No, si r.
1,1R. VIARD ! No, si r.
TI{E COURT: All right. You may step down. Thank
you.
1.1R. VIHATL,EY: Plaintif f rests, your l{onor.
TIIE CffiRT: A11 right.
lIR, tiARDl Your Honor, lf f may, Ird make the motion
at this time, Ird also like to perhaps have maybe five or ten
minutes before we proceed beyond that.
THB CCruRf : A11 right. lfer]I take a recess at this
point. I have two questions dealing rvith exhibits. Ilave
plaintiffs actually presented to the Court Exhibits 32 through
53?
I'lR. !'IIIATLEY: I think Abi:y has them up there.
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TIIE COIIRT: Okay. f see them. Thank you. One other
question: In the deposition of l*lrs. Bozeman, there were a
number of exhibits attached to or referred to in that
deposition. Nost of these exhibits are simply duplicates of
the exhiblts that, have been received thus far as exhibits
here.
There are a few exhibits, however, that were addressed in
the deposltion that have not been separately identified here.
Irm not clear whether counseL are offering those other
exhiblts or not.
MR. WARD: Your Honorr there were some -- the
exhlbits that f recaIl pertain to some copies of the reporter.
f donr t know if thatr s what your Honor is speaking of.
THE CfiJRT: There just are several exhibits that are
ln the group of exhibits that were attached to ltlrs. Bozemanrs
deposition that have not been re-identified and offered here,
and Irm not sure whether lrm supposed to take those into
accounL or not.
I,lR. I,IAI{D: Your Honor, I donf t thinli so. I donrt
think therer s anything
THE COURT: Your re not offering those?
l'IR. ttARD: Nor sir. If they are not on my list'
ancl
I,lR. ITIHATLBY: I think they are mostly things like
ner\rspaper articles.
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THE COURT: They are, at Least thatrs one thing
t,hatts ext,ra. There is perhaps a fers other items that are
extra.
MR. WARD: llothing.
THE COURT: Okay. Wellr I want to taker thenr a
recess. It will take me probably about twenty minutes to go
through and read the portions of the depositions that I have
not already read.
So, fr 11 go ahead and do that at this point before we hear
any evidence from the defendant.
(neiess at 10:30 e. rn. until 10:50 d. rn. )
THE CqrRT: I am going to deny the defendant's motion
under RuIe 41, of course, without prejudice to reconsideration
at the conclusion of all the evidence.
If the defense has additional evidence to present, I think
it ought to be allsured and received W the Court.
I,lR. IfARD: Al1 right, sir. Defense rvould call
I'Iilliam Carpenter.
iLItL I Art W..' "' CAR P &l[Ir.&i:!E E EN.DAIIIS'' -
?I I TNE,S S ;' - S
gLRECT- EXAI,IINATION
BY-MR; ''TVARD:
Q. t'Ihere do you 1ive, 1,1r. Carpenter?
A. Route 3, I{iI1port, A1abama. Thatrs in Picl<ens County.
Q. And, are you employed currenEly?
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A. No, sir.
Q. Have you been so?
A. Itm self-employed. Irm self-employed.
Q. Have you previously served as Superintendent of the
Pickens County Board of Educat,ion?
A. I have.
Q. And, for horu long did you serve?
A. For fourteen years.
Q. When was the last date of service?
A. June the 30th, L981.
Q. Ifere you superlntendent, then, November of Lg7 g?
A. Yes, sir.
Q, Can you teIL il€r !1r. Carpent,er, are you f amiliar with Mrs.
ilaggie Bozeman, the plalntiff in this case?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. l{as IUrs. Bozeman a teacher with your system?
A. She rvas.
Q. I,Ihat school did she teach at?
A. AIiceville Elementary.
8. Do you know what grade she taught?
A. Second grade, I believe.
Q. Who was her supervising principal?
A. l,lr. I,Iilliam Rice.
Q. And did you have an assistant superintendent at that time?
A. 14r. Lenvrood Hol] iman.
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Q. I{r. Carpenterr did you have an occasion as superintendent
to become involved in a matter involving l.lrs. Bozeman and her
signing in according to school policy at Aliceville Elementary
School ?
A. Yes.
Q. TeIl the Court horv you first became involved in that,
please, sir.
A. IUr. Rice related to me that Mrs. Bozeman refused to sign
in as the other teachers did. I asked him if he had talked to
her about it, he said he had.
And I advise<I him to counsel with her again and talk to
heri put it in writing, whatever you need to do to document
the fact that she would not sign in as the other teachers $rere
doing.
0. Did -- was there an occasion where he came back to you
another time?
A. Yes. I-le ca:ne back and said she still refused to sign in.
0. Did you take any action after that?
A. f did. f r.rent and talked to l4rs. Bozeman.
Q. You went to the school?
A. Yes.
Q, TelL the Court what you said to her and what she said to
you.
A. I just I canrt remember what I sald I just suggested
she sign in, this r.ras school policy, and the failure to do so
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would be insubordination.
Q. You have been ln the courtroom this morning; havenr t you?
A. Yes, sir.
to get there without any
Q. Did she telI you that at the time that was why she wasnr t
signlng in, do you recall?
A. f donr t recall what excuse she gave.
Q. All right, My next question wBSr do you know if any other
Q. I'1r. Cartrnnter, do you recall [lrs.
reasons about, not being able to sign
where you signed in was too cluttered
couldnrt get to the sign-in sheet?
A. The rest of the teachers managed
troubl e.
teachers erere failing to sign in?
A. No, sir. Let me phrase it this
forgot to sign in, but none refused
difference between refusing to sign
occasion and coming back as soon as
Q. I\tr. Carpenter, did that end the
Bozeman giving you any
in because the place
or covered up, or she
rray: A teacher might have
to sign in. Therets a
in and forgetting on
possible to sign in.
problem there?
A. hlo, si r.
Q. I,ihat happened next?
A. !{e11, I wrote l,lrs. Bozeman a letter suggesting that she
mtght sign in, it was school policy.
Q. Do you know if she complied with that?
A. So far as I know, she did not.
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Q. tr'iere you contacted again by your principal?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you have another conversaEion with Mrs. Bozeman?
A. fo my knowledge, I did. I had a Iot of conversations with
!1rs. Bozeman.
Q. Did you write her another letter?
A. Possibly, Irm not sure.
Q. At what point did Mrs. Becky Neira become irvolved?
A. weL1, f tm not sure, itrs been so long, l,lrs. Nelra came
into my office on numerous occasions to talk to me about
problems with teachers. And in turn, f would share with her
some of the concerns that I might have.
And to my knowledge, I suggested she might need to talk to
['lrs. Bozeman, that she was refusing to follors school rules --
Q. All right.
A. and then probably still hadnr t corrected itself.
0. I believe the dates that this was occurring -- rvould this
have been in the spring or fa11 of 1979, if you recall?
A. frm not suE€r could have been the spring.
Q. All right. So, relative to --
A. Beg your pardon, it was the springr Lhe best I remember.
Right.
Q. relative t.o the sign-in matter then, to your linovrledge'
she had been inst,ructed by her principal on more than one
occasion?
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A. Yes.
Q. Then you had to become involved?
A. Yg s.
Q. I{hat -- does the Board of education have a policy
regaf,ding teachers providing vreekly lesson plans?
A. Yes, sir. This is part of the --
Q. lfhat is it?
A. This is -- wellr itrs part of the regulations from the
State Board of Education that all teachers prepare a lesson
pI an.
In the Board of Education, in their policy handbook,
requlre the teachers submit lesson plan on a Friday before the
next i{eek. They are supposed to be in the principalt s office
on Friday. The lesson plan would conrer the next weekr s --
Q. What's the purpose of that, please, sir?
A. I'IelI, probably two-fo1d: One, it shor,trs that a teacher has
prepared lessons for a raeek in advance. And if she is out,
she has to have a substitute teacher. TI're substitute teacher
could follow her plan that she has outlined for the students.
Q. Do you know if that was a problem vrith l,trs. Bozeman in
Aliceville Elementary School?
A. I'1r. Rice reported to me on several occasions she refused
to turn in a lesson plan on t'riday.
Q. I,Ias this a rnatter that was a problern ongoing up to the
point in November of I9B0 excuse fier 1979 when she was
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convicted of that offense?
A. I'IeII, it had been going on fat a year or more. Longer
than that, possibly. It had been called to my attenLion
during the previous school year.
O. What about the matter or policy, if you will, of the board
in professional develoyxnent plans? Did the board have a
policy regarding this?
A. riellr the State Board of Education more or less mandatc.s
that each school system develop a plan for professional
development. The teacher was supposed to subrnit, their
proposed plan for professional developnent during the summeri
during the school year--before the end of the school year, it
' had to be in the principalr s office. And, in return, the
principal turned all of them in to lr1r. Ilollirnan.
They had to be a proposed plan of professional developrrent
turned in I4f each teacher by the end of the school year.
O. t{hat inf ormation rvas beinq sought?
A. It was Lold vihat they proposecl t,o do in the ruay of
attending summer schoolT worllshop, conferences; that they had
in mind to attend. If it was toward getting an advanced
degree. how it would fit in with their course of study for the
master's or Double A, something like that.
0. Do you l<nor if [.lrs. Bozeman had a prob]em vrith that area?
A. She did not turn in a professional developnrent plan before
the end of the school year.
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Q. Do you know -- did you personally ever counsel with her
regarding that?
A. Possibly not, because IrIr. Holliman was responsible for
0. Thatrs the assistant superintendent?
A. Thatr s right, assistant superintendent.
Q. You understand that he counseled with her?
A. yes, sir. He informed rne that she was not turning in a
professional developnent plan, and f suggested that he counsel
with her and put it in wrlting.
Q. All right. And do you knor,r if she had faiLed to compLy
with that professional development plan requirement that, last
summer of 1979?
A. Yes, sir, and the summer before that.
Q. All rightr Sif,. Mr. Carpenter, af ter l,Irs. Bozeman was
convicted by the Circuit Court there in pickens County, did
you call a board meeting?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And did the board vote to hold a hearing on her possible
te rmi nation?
A. Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
Q. I{ere any of the charges -- let me ask you this, tlr.
Carpenter -- did the charges include the convictlon and these
other reasons we vJere talking about?
A. It included -- yes, as one of the charges.
Q. You were superintendent r*rhen she presented a request fot
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Carpente r/nLrect 53
the board to grant her leave of absence to fighE her case?
A. Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you know of any -- the boarri granted that request; did
it, not?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you know of any personal or political reason that any
member of the board would have in November 1979 to want l4rs.
Bozeman terminated?
A. Nor sir.
I'IR. WHATLEY! I object to that. I don't know that he
would be competent to draw that concLusion,
T'HE COURT, weIlr the question is whether he knows of
any such reason, and his anrierer wilL be allowed to be
received.
Q. Was lt your recommendation to the Board of Education to
hold the hearing on a possible termination of her?
A. Ye s, si r.
Q. Did you understand as superintendent, l4r. Carpenter, and
accoroing to Alabama 1aw, that the superintendent must
recommend personnel actions?
A. Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
Q. And that that recommendation must appear before any action
on the part of the board?
A. Yes, sir.
I.IR. !'IARD: I think thatts aII, your Honor.
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Carpenter/Cross 54
THE COURT: Cross-examination.
CROSS:'EXAI'IINATION
BY -MR; "I.IIIA?[.EY:
Q. I,1r. Carpenter, do you knol what a personnel file is?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. I{hat is that?
A. I'Iellr itrs a file that contains a record of pertinent data
relating to personnel.
Q. Things like annual evaluations?
A, Could include thatl [€s.
Q. Things ltke these letters you have referred to that you
say --
A. Not necessarilyr that wouldnrt be in the personnel fi}e.
No.
0. Did the Pickens County School Board keep personnel files
on employees?
A. I'Jof sir, we did not have a f ile on each individual
teacher. I.lo, sir, not a personnel f ile.
Q. lthat rvould happen to the annual evaluations that l{rs.
Bozeman would get? Her principal would prepare them and he
sends them in to the superintendentrs office; right?
A. Right.
Q, i{hat did you do vrith them?
A. Mr. Holliman kept them on filc in his office.
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Q. I{hat was that f i1e cal1ed?
A. Call.ed evaluation f i1e. I{e just have a f ile of all the
teacherst evaluation, wasntt a file -- wasnrt a personnel
file. Just an evaluation file with all the personnel.
Q. So' you didnr t call it a personnel filer you ca1led lt an
evaluation?
A. That was all that was in that partlcular fiIe.
Q. I{hat about these letters that you say that r,rere written --
A. That was kept ln the board -- where our secretary files
letters. It wasnrt in an individual teacherrs file.
Q. How Long.vrere they kept?
A. As far as f know, lndefinitely.
Q. Do you know why none have been available for [lrs. Bozeman?
A. I have no idea, Irm sorry. f have some -- Mr. Ray gave
me several letters that I sent copies. Theyr re in the file.
Q. ?alking about the letters of termination?
A. Letters of termination?
0. The letter given Mrs. Bozeman -- the letter you r,rrote
I{ovsnber 6th, 1979 -- I guess af ter that board meeting --
saying the charges she was facingi is that vrhat your re talking
about ?
A. I donrt know.
Q. I,ihat letters are you saying I4r. I,iard showed you?
A. tetters thaL vras h,ritten by Re; dictated to the secretaryr
sent Lo her and that she received certified mail. I donr t
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know what they urere. Thatts been nine years. f cantt
remember all the letters.
Q. You canr t remember all the meetings?
A. Certainly, r canr t. I,ie had meetings all the time. Thatts
nine years dgo, man.
Q. Had a lot of meetings with Mrs. Bozeman?
A. Yesr sir.
Q. What kind of things did you meet with Mrs. Bozeman about?
A. What I have already told Mr. I{ard.
Q. You wouldnr t meet about anythlng else rslth her?
A. t{e117 !€s.
Q. Ifhat?
A. There vrere other things.
Q. what?
A. I.IeIIr on€ time, we reassigned -- rre had to reassign our
teachersr we put the kindergarten in and we moved the second
grade over to another r.ring, and we told the teachers and rue
assigned the rooms and Mrs. Bozcman r,iouldntt move. She said
she didnr t want to move. And I had Lo talk to her about that.
Q. Did she ever move?
A. No. Mr. Rice moved her things. She ref used t,o move.
Q. But she did change classrooms?
A. She had to. I told her it r,rould be insubordination if she
didnr t.
Q. And she chanqed?
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A. Yes, after I told her.
0. Novr, when were you superintendent,?
A. From 1967 to 1981.
Q. So, you were superintendent about fourteen years?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you have many teachers in the pickens County SchooL
Qystem that were as long-term a teacher as Mrs. Bozeman?
A. Probably. I donr t remember how many.
Q. I{e11, how many long-term teachers did yta1J. fire for
failing to sign in?
A. Mrs. Bozeman wis the only teacher that refused to sign in.
Q. Any teacher do anything like that in the whole school
system?
A. Not to rny knowledge. None refused to follorp school rules,
except Mrs. Bozeman.
Q. Now, when had l.lrs. Bozeman refused to sign in?
A. r donrt knoru when it sLarted. I.1r. Rice started talking to
me aL.out it about L978.
Q. And you didnrt bring any charges against her then, did
you?
A. Not at that time, because I urouldnt t have brought, charges
against, any teacher. When the principal first tel1s me, I
told the principal that he -- tall< Lo her about it. tr'Ie try to
resolve it on a local level.
Q. fn fact, there was -- you kner'r that there was ultimately a
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meeting betveen IIr. Rice and Becky Neira; didnrt you?
A. I didnrt knor,r, I wasnrt involved. They didnrt ask me to
attend.
Q. You knew that problem had been resoLved; didnf t you?
A. I didnrt know.
Q. Did you check before you brought these charges against
Ittrs. Bozeman?
A. I donr t really document this in writing.
Q. Thatrs not my question. I just merely asked, did you
check with the prlncipal., Mr. Ricer before you wrote that
letter of Novem.ber .6 , L97 9?
A. Did I check with hlm for what?
Q. To see whether the problem about signing in had been
resolved?
A. I donrt -- I donrt rememtrer ruhether I checked. I dontt
know vrhat you call checking.
Q. Did you talk to him?
A. Yes, I talked to him.
Q. Did you ask him whether the problem --
A. I donrt know, thatrs been nine years. f donrt know what I
asked hirn.
Q. So, he may have told you at that time that the problem had
been resolved?
A. He might have.
Q. And you brought thaE charge against her in any event?
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A. Right. Because she had been insubordinate time and time
agai n.
Q. Nowr before she was convicted criminallyr you had not
brought that charge against her?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. When did you bring that charge?
A. That was put in writing rvhen it lnvolved ltr. Ray -- Ray
Ward and Itlr. Ray. We had numerous rneetings with them
outlining the reasons why we would recornrnend that ilrs. Bozeman
be dismissedr and that lras one of them.
Q. You had meetings with ltr. Ward before you prepared that
letter ?
A. Yes.
0. I noticed that letter is dated November the 6th, 1979 --
I'1I be glad to give you a copy of it if you'd like -- and the
board minutes reflect that the board met and approved you
sending the letter out at 6r30 that night.
Did you have a secretary available after the board meeting
to send it out?
A. t{elIr [ir. I{o]-liman acted as secretary of the board. He
always took the minutes, if thatr s what you're talking about.
Q, I{ellr rny question, really, was the letter prepared and
reaff to go out to l,trs. Bozeman by certified mail before the
board ever met, that night?
A. Not to my knowledge.
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Q. Your re saying that the board -- the letter was prepared
after the board meeting?
A. I donr t know when it was prepared. I dont t -- I say, if I
dictated the letterr the lett,er would show vrhether my
secretary copied the letter. Her initials would be on it.
0. Did she work at night?
A. Ialhen I asked her to, y€sr sir.
Q. Do you know whether she vrorked at night the night of
November the 6th?
A. I don't remember. I dont t know. She was at a tot of
board meetings.
0. Has the Pickens County Board of Education ever terminated
a long-terro teacher for failing to submit, weekly lesson plans?
A. I,lrs. Bozeman is the only teacherr to my knoivledge, ever
refused to submit lesson p1ans.
8. How many teachers are there in the Pickens Cclunty Systern?
A. Oh, about tr.ro lrundrecl. I'm not suren ;l hundred and fifty,
tvlo hundred. f donr t. knor.l.
Q. And yourre saying she ref use<i to submit lesson plans and
she's the only one that refused?
A. Yes, sir, frm saying that.
Q. Although you cionrt remember ever talking to her about it,?
A. I didn| t talk to her about it, no. Because her principal
is supposed to tall< to her about it.
Q. And your re saying t.hat that happened <rur:ing tlre previous
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school year?
A. Yes.
Q. And the school year before that?
A. Yes.
Q. I,trhen, in her thirty years with the Pickens County Board,
did ltrs. Bozeman start refusing to submit lesson plans?
A. tdel1r I couldnrt teI.l you that.
A. f coulclnr t tell you that. I vrasnr t a principal.
Q. Itrhenr in her thirty years with the Pickens County Board of
Educat,ion, did she refuse to sign in? When did she start?
A. f don't knou. I wasnrt a prlncipalr f was superintendent.
I don't know vrhen she ref used t.o do this.
All I know is, she refused to do it repeated refused
after she was counseled with. After I told her it was
insubordination, she refused to sign in.
Q. Did the board have proceedings started to terminat,e her
before she was convicted?
A. Yes, slr.
Q. I,Ihen did they start?
A. In t78-79.
Q. Iihen -- what documentatlon do you have to support that?
A. These lett,ers that, we sent to her.
Q. Your re saying they were sent to her before her conviction?
A. In t-l9t I sent her a letter telling her about the sign-in.
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Yes, sir, before tha conviction.
Q. And your re saying tlr.
'f,ard
has letters saying that sher s
going to be t,erminated before the conviction?
A. I didntt say that.
Q. },Ihat are you saying?
A. Irm saying that I had a letter you asked was any
letters sent -- r sent her a letter about her insubordination
for not -- about signing in.
Q. t{aybe f wasnrt c1ear. My question ls, were proceedings
started to terminate her?
A. Now, what do you mean by nproceedings,?
Q. [ihat ls the first -- you were superintendent for fourteen
years, how many emplayees -- how many tenured teachers did you
terminate or did you recommend to the board be terminated
during those fourteen years?
A. I oonrt recall.
0. Approxilnately how many?
A. I donrt recalL. Ilave to check the minutes.
0. Okay. As a superintendentr )'our re supposed to be --
you're the first step in the terminat,ion process of a tenured
empl oyee ?
A. Itm r.lhat?
Q. Are you the first step in the termination of a tenured
Eeacher as a superintendent?
A. I have to recommend it to the boar<l, yes.
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Q. They canr t act until you recommend?
A. Right.
Q. Nolr, rny question is, had you made a recommendation to
terminate I4rs. Bozeman prior to her conviction on November
2nd, I979?
A, l.Io, sir. But I had been documenting reasons r,rhy prior to
that.
Q. I,Iere you going to make that recommendation on I'iovember the
5th if she had been found innocent?
A. Probably not on lrlovember the 6thr but just as soon as ve
had a board. f was prepared to ,""o**und to the board that
she be disrni6sed.
Q. And vhat documents do you have to show that preparation?
A. The letters that f sent about her refusing to sign in; the
letters that l'!r. Holliman sent about her ref using to send in
professional developnent p1ans. I,{e had all these letters.
This isnr t somethillg t e jusi jusb didnr t dream up on
November 6th. The record speaks for itself.
Q. And where are those letters?
A. In the files.
Q. llhat f il es?
A. The Board of Bducation filesr so far as I -- I have a copy
of them in the material that I{r. I.Iard gave to me.
0. Yourre saying you have colries of those of letters sent
before --
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Carpenter/ nedi rect 64
A. That I sent to l'lrs. Bozeman.
1.1R. IJHATLEY: I think thatrs all f have.
IIIE CfiJRT: Any redirect?
RS pTRECT- EXAIlI NAT ION
BY'. MR; -I'IARD3
0. Mr. Carpenterr do you recall whether or not, the charges
that Mrs. Bozeman -- that you made against t'lrs. Bozeman in
November 1979, did they refer to her conduct as a teacher
during the prior year?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And at Least as to the professlonal developnent plan
problem and the lesson plan problem, did you understand those
were continuing up to the time that she was also convicted in
November ?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. I.Ir. Carpenter, at any time, did you ever inform l{rs.
Bozeman that the conviction was the only reason that she was
being --
A. IIo, si r.
Q. terminated?
A. l{o r Ei r.
Q. Ilave you personally ever used the term nprimaryn or
'majort' as belng the reason she was being t,erminated, that
rlould be the conviction?
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Carpenter/ Recross 65
A. In my mind, it was not the primary reason,
I'tR. tr'IARD: That I s all.
REgBOSS- EXAl,l INA? ION
BY*I,lR; ..I{HATf,EY:
Q. I'lr. Carpenter, these documents that you said you have or
got from Mr, Ward--letters prlor to November of 1979--are
they, in your oplnion, documents related to the decision to
terminate l,laggie Bozeman?
A. If the letter said something about her refusing to sign
in, yes. Thatr s --
MR. WHATLEY: No such letter has ever been produced
for usr your Honor, and they have .been requested during
di scovery.
. llR. I,JARD; I have not produced any letters that go
bacl< beyond the l,lovember 6, L979 letter that heads the
exhibit,s that are here.
I{hat I have suppl ied hinr vras copies of those letters and
minutes f rom I'Iovember 6th f orward. f have no letter. I wish
we di<i have those letters, your Honor.
MR. WHATT,EY: So, itrs stipulated that l,Ir. Carpenter
gave false testimony?
!lR. I{ARD: No, Irm noL saying that at all.
TIIE CCURT: lrlor f donrt believe that woulri be
sti pu} ated.
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Carpenter./ Recross 56
I'lR. WHATT,EY: Butr lour Honor, he said he had letters
and he had seen letters and discussed t,hem with t4r. ?iard prior
t,o November 179 and as I understood, even here in the
courtroom. l.Iaybe I misunderstood his testimony.
THE CCURT: Number oD€r therers certainly no
stlpulation --
MR. WHAIT-,BY: Okay.
THE COURT: -- about false test,imony.
MR. WHATTEY: Okay. I overstated it and I apologize.
And I apologize to Mr. Iolard, your Honor.
But--maybe I misunderstood the testimony, but I thought he
just said that he had and he had reviewed with l'tr. Ward
letters prior to November of 1979 which were related to the
terminati on.
ITIE COURf: I believe thab was the substance of his
testimony.
MR. I,fHATLBY: And lvtr. Itard has now said that there
are no such letters that they have.
TIIE COURT: Thatrs what I understand.
MR. hIIIATLBY: Okay.
fHE I,IITNESS: Your Honorr Irm -- nine years, f cant t
remember exactly what all these things i.rere.
RqDI RIICT EXAI.IIIJAT IO.N
BY .I,lR; I,IAM:
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Carpenter/ Redi rect 67
Q. tet me asl< you this, 1,1r. Carpenterr since it has been
rai se d.
At the time the charges were brought in November 1979,
were there documents--these letters that you speak of--
pertaining to your notification to I4rs. Bozeman regarding her
performance as a teacher?
Do you recaLl there being letters present at that, time?
A. f canr t recall, Mr. Ward, what letters vrere available.
MR. WARD: All rlght, sir.
IIIE WITNESS: f rm sorry.
ItlR. IfARD: ?hatr s aI]. right. llothing more. your
Honor.
THE COURTT All right. You may step down, thank you.
(witness excused)
IUR. WARD: Ca11 I'tr. Lenwood Holliman.
tENr{oop'rrol]LJ}l&ly; " DEFENDANIIEI' rfrrNriss,'swoRl't
!IN.EC]I.:EXAIIIEIILLAN
BJ:HB ; ".TURRP :
Q. tihere do you live, I'1r. Holliman?
A. Live in Gordo, Alabamai Pickens County.
Q. IIow long have you lived there?
A. Illenty years.
Q. Are you employed?
A. Yes.
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IIoI I iman,/oi rect
A. I.Ihere?
A. Pickens County Board of Education.
Q. fn what capacity?
A. Assistant superintendent of the schools, in charge of
instruction.
Q. How long have you held that position?
A. fUenty-one years.
Q. TeIl oer if you ruould, pleaser what are some of the
responsibilities that you have as assistant superintendent.
A. Well, there are manyl Itrs in charge of lnstruction, deaL
with textbooks, staff develo;xnent, in-service educationr aII
and any other duties that the superintendent wants me t,o do as
assi stant.
Q. AlL right, sir. Is there a State board regulation that ls
passed along to the boards which requires that teachers
provide a professional development plan each year?
A, Yes. In 1972, the State board passed a resolution
mandating that each school district in the State of Alabama
prepare and submit for approval at, the State 1evel, a plan.
Pickens County Board complied with that plan, and I was the
person rsho was <iesignated to do it.
I^Iithin this pIan, there was some components that vrere
required t,hat vras an outllne given us by the State that you
have to follow.
Q. All right. was this brought to the attention of the
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teachers of Pickens County?
A. Yes.
Q. tr{hen, and how hrould it have been brought to their
attention?
A. For the 173-7 4 school yearr of course? at, Institute and at
meetings and through the principals and through going to
school s.
But each year, I rvould attach a copy of the board
resoLution under}ining the date--and it was a mandate, and it
wasnr t something that was ours alone--it was the State of
Alabama, and we were conplying with the State resolution.
Q. And to your knowledge, lrould Mrs. Bozeman have received
that docurnent,ation?
A. Yes.
0. And according to the rulesi when was this report to have
been provided?
A. [rlel], it -- we would do it -- the idea is improvement or
groartlr. f tr s callecl professional grodth plan.
So, we would start in the spring of the year and we would
have deadlines, and we liked for the end of the school year.
And then someone who was new who had corne in in the fal}, they
would -- r.re had -- r.le had a deadline that we had to get our
plan to the State of Alabama.
0. All right. Do you recall about when that deadline rvould
have been each year?
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A. Probably september 15th. Thatts what r would think would
be the dead.line.
Q. And did the teachers turn these reports in to their
supervising principal" ?
A. Right.
Q. And then the supervising principsl, did he in turn or she
in turn get that to you?
A. Right.
Q. WouLd you review these plans, then?
A. Yes, each teachersr,
Q. Wou1d you make a note as to which teachers responded and
which didn't?
A. Right.
0, Did you have any teachers in the year let me ask you
this: In the 1979 year, the end of the 1978-79 schooL year
did you have any teachers in the piclcens County Schoot System
that did not provide you r+ith a professional developrnent plan?
A. One.
O. And who rrras that?
A. I{rs. Bozeman.
Q. tfas that an isolated incidentr or had that happened
before?
A. Each year, I had a problem. Sornetimes I would get the
forms signed, but there would be nothing on the form.
Let me say why I said 'formn. Each teacher had, as a
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component of the plan, had to have an individual p1an. Thatrs
a requirement.
To make things easy for a teacher and make things easfr
had a format. It was a blankr rnor€ or less, that a teacher
would fill in vrith a certain--we ca1led them options.
Our plan and our board minutesr our -- gave -- f meanr
they had to have approval at the Central Office Ieve1. And,
of course, I was the person to approve them.
Q. L{hen you say "approven, approve what, please, sir?
11. Approve that the plan was okay, that the teacher rr,as in
compliance with the State board regulation.
For example. a teacher that vlas in graduate schoolr orle of
the options vras that they could continue at -- by their course
requlrements would meet the -- would -- v/as one of the
option's; workshops and workshop at.tendance.
But one of tire r ules and regul a tions regar ding vror kshop
attendance dealt ivit-h a prior approval if thc1, tvere outside
Pici<ens Count.y.
Q. And this prior approval lrras so that you coulcl comply as
system ivith the State Department of }LegulaEions?
A. Right. And to see if -- you knol, baslcetmaking is not
very inportant to teaching physics.
Q. All right, sir.
A. So, if they r'rent to a vrorkshop on basl<etmaking' iL
rvouldnr t be approved.
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HoI1 iman./Pi recE 72
O. Te1l the Court' if you would, your recollection of the
compliance history of Hlrs. Bozeman for this regulation.
A. hlellr rnost of the time the form would be signed, but would
be blank and would have a note on it that nI have not yet made
my commitment or intentlonstr.
Q. She would turn a blank form back in?
A. Right,, with her name signed.
Q. So she would turn in some form, but had nothing on it?
A. Rlght.
0. And was that in compliance with your policy and the Stat,e
board regs?
A. No. ft was the only one -- she was the only teacher that
I ever had a problem with.
Q. Did you counsel with l,lrs. Bozeman regarding that?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you talk to her personally about it?
A. Yeg.
Q. Did you talk to her personal personally abcut doing this,
and the way it, needed to be done before the t79 report was
due?
A. Yes.
Q. Did she follov, your instructions?
A. I'Io.
1.1R. !'IARD: That' s all.
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Hol l irnan./Cross 73
CROSS- EXAI.IINATTOI{
B Y
* !IR; ..
TiIT{3TI]EY :
Q. Where are those forms kept?
A. When a teacher would turn in their form, it was put in a
f older.
Q. Do you keep the folders?
A. Yes.
0. Still have a folder on I'trs. Bozeman?
A. Irm not, sure how long the records are. f have -- we keep
current folders, r dont t know whether r have the folders that
far back.
Q.' Dld you have a folder on her in January of L982 when you
testified before the board?
A. r did.
Q. I noticed you didnr t put any documents in evidence at that
time. But yourre saying you had them available to put in; is
that ruhat your re saying?
A. tr'iellr I had documents that she had not fulf illed her
req ui rement s.
Q. And you donr t knol whether you still have those documents
or not?
A. Irm sure they are available.
Q. Your re saying those documents, in part, form the basls for
Mrs. Bozemanr s termination?
A. I'lould be one -- might be one part. There lrrere other
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Iloll iman/Cross 74
allegations or other reasons.
Q. But your re saying those are documents that formed part of
the basis for her termination?
A. Ye s.
MR, I{tlATtBY: your Honor, again f t11 state f or the
record that those document,s have not been produced for us.
THE COURTT All right.
Q. Now, when Mrs. Bozeman -- we1}, let me ask you this --
would things like the Alabama Preschool Instltute here at the
University of Alabama be a satisfactory --
A. Would for a klndergarten teacher.
Q. Would not be for an elementary schooL teacher in the early
grades?
A. I,tighb, but there are other things that would. But prior
approval would have been -- should have been -- that lras one
of the rules and regulations.
0. You donrt dispute that [,1rs. Bozeman did have continuing
education?
A. I shoulrl say frm sure she had a lot of continuing
education, but I donr t knorvr what the types were.
Q. And your re saying that l4rs. Bozeman l- f rom the time your
school board starting implementing this Stat,e board policy in
1972, you're saying that lltrs. Bozeman never complied with it,?
A. Every year, there vras some problem.
Q. And but it didnrt form any basis for any termination
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H011 iman/Cross 75
until L979r after she was convicted of a felony?
A. Itm not the person to start a dismissal.
Q. I understand. But do you know of any basis for proceeding
for her termination that was started before November of L97 9?
A. I knovr of no starting. But I do knoru that she was -- was
told and was counseled and written many times regarding the
probl ems.
Q. And do you knol where those many writings are?
A. 9ie11, I dontt know where all of them are. I know that
there was letters written to her.
Q. Well, do you know where those Letters are?
A. (No audible response.)
Q. Sir?
MR. I{ARD: Your Honorr rnoy vre have a moment at the
bench, please, sir?
THB COURT: Surely.
(Attorneys approached bench and off the record discussion.)
Q. llr. I{o1}iman, itr s your testimony that you donr t know
where those letters are today?
A. I'trellr I know where they are.
0. !'Ihere are they?
A. I gave some letters that have been in a file to our
attorney.
0, That include these letLers?
1,1R. I^IARD: t.Ihen -- not, regarding the cliscovery in
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this case, I donrt believe.
THE IdITNESSI l^Ihat do you mean olettersn?
THE COURT : Wel.l, why donrt you wait on that untiL
redirect examination.
A. I^Ihat letters?
0. I mean the letters your re talking about that you say you
sent l.lrs. Bozeman about failing -- what you say was her
faiLure to fuIfiI1 her continuing education,
A. f turned over --
Q, the reporting regulrement?
A. a filer and f have -- some time ago. And I mean like
before 170 -- ever whaL it was, f donrt know. I havenrt had
the file since.
Q. Since?
A. !'Ihen I say the nf i1en, her folder.
Q. You mean since either t79 or '82, sornervhere in that
period?
A. Right.
Q. Is that right?
A. ( lto au<iible response. )
Q. Irm sorry, I couldnrt hear your sir?
A. Well' I donrt know where the letters are. Ir11 put it,
thaE wf,f.
Q. I'Ihat about the evaluation file?
A. The files would come in from the principals and they would
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Rice/Di rect 77
be reviewedr dDd they are left in a folder.
Q. You sttll have that, folder on [Irs. Bozeman?
A. It wasnr t an individual foLder, it was by the school. I
canr t answer that. f donr t knol.
Q. fn any eventr you knew that I"Irs. Bozeman got good
evaluations; didnt t you?
A. No, I dontt know that they were necessarily good
eval uati ons.
Q, Do you remernber what they were?
A. No, I dont t.
IUR. I{HATLEY: Okay. Thatt s all.
THE CqrRT: Redirect?
I\tR. I^IARD: I donr t have anything f urther f or him,
your Honor.
THE COURT: All right, You may step dovrn, thank you.
(t,iitness excused)
1.1R. I,JARD: We call l.lr. I{illiam Rice.
ry I Lt IAI,! - H ; - R IC E ;'" DEFENDANTS'' r,trTlqll SS_; _FI.{ORN
DIRECT .EXA}IIUATIOT{
BY-TIIR; "IIARD:
Q. tr{here do you live, l,lr. Rice?
A. I live Route 1, Box 11l-Itr Carrolltonr Alabama. Itrs
three rniles from Aliceville.
Q. And, are you employed?
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Rice/Direct
A. Etnployed with Pickens County Board of Education, principal
of Aliceville glementary School.
Q. How long have you been a principal there?
A. Thirty years.
Q. Was tlaggie Bozeman one of the teachers under your
supervision at that, school.?
A. Yeg.
Q. Mr. Rice, do you recall there being a problem with Mrs.
Bozeman regarding her signing in at the beginning of the
school day?
A. Yes.
O. I{hat was the requirement of all the teachers at your
school while she was a teacher there?
A. Reguirement was to sign in by 7t45.
Q. Thatr s in the morning?
A. fn the morning, 7 245 d.rn.
Q. And, would I,Irs. I3ozeman f o1low that requirement?
A. No.
Q. Now, there was no question she was at school, was
there r --
A. lio.
before 7 245?
quest,ion that she was at school at 7:45.
TIIE CArRT: You'11 need to speal< out.
THE i"f ITNESS: Okay,
No
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Q. [.Ias the problen with her signing the siqn-in sheet?
A. Yes.
Q. I'tr. Rice, did you talk to I\lrs. Bozeman about the problem?
A. Ye s.
Q. Did you talk to her abcut it on more than one occasion?
A. f would say more than once.
Q. And, tras this a problem that continued up to the time she
was suspendecl from her teaching?
A. Not real}y.
Q. ifhen was it -- vrhen was the problem l,uith her signing in
settled?
A. The problem was set,tled af ter we had a conference with
Becky -- if you perr.rit me t,o say Becky -- and l{rs. Bozeman.
Q. I,ihat preceded that? I.Ihat had you done to try to get her
to sign in the way she r.ras supposed to?
A. :[ only talked with her about it, and flnally wrote lylr.
Carpenter.
Q. Do you know if Mf,. Carpenter wrote letters back to !lrs.
Boz eman?
A. I donrt know.
Q. Do you have any of the letters that you vrrote to l,lr.
Carpenter, copies of any of them?
A. No, I donr t keep files that long, that type of file.
Q, Mr. Rice, do you know how many times you wouLd have toLd
l.lrs. Bozeman to follow the rule and sign in in the morning?
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A. Possibly three or four times. If I wrote l'tr. Carpenter,
then that become a problem over a period of time.
Q. A11 right. Therer s also been some testimony here today
about l{rs. Bozeman and some lesson plans.
I{hat requirement did you have at your school regarding
lesson plans?
A. A lesson plan at my school hras to be turned in Friday
af ternoon, or by eight or clock on lulonday,
Q. And for what period of time? t{hat period of time would
that cover?
A. The next week.
Q. The next week?
A. fhe next week.
Q. What was the purpose of having those plans?
A. !'Ie11, the purpose two-f old: One, so the teacher woulrl
have a plan to be organized and know r.rhat she's going to do
the next weeki and the other one was meeting the requirement
set by the Board of Bducation.
Q. Did l,lrs. Bozeman comply with that rule?
A. Mrs. Bozeman would turn in lesson plans late, but she
would turn in lesson plans.
Q. When you say 'later, when would she t,urn them in?
A. A week, trvo weeks af ter they vrere due.
Q. A week or truo they $r'ere af ter due?
A. i'laybe three or four at the time.
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Q. Three or four plans at a time?
A. You knovrr if she -- weIlr Itd say yes. Because it would
be -- it might be one week, tno weeks and third vreekr oDd she
migh! turn them all ln to me. But she would turn them in.
Q. Now, would they do you any good as a principal turned in
Late?
A. No. OnIy Eo know that she had taught that time, had
certified that she had taught.
Q. Did you talk with her about get,ting her plans in on tinre?
A. Yes.
Q. And did you do this on more than one occasion?
A. Yg s.
Q. Dld slte follor^, your directions?
A. She still turned them in late.
Q. Did this continue up t,o the time she was convicted of this
crime ln Novenber of 1979?
A. Irrn not, sure. I would say yes. Itm not sure.
Q. All right, sir. In the area of -- rvel]r let me asli you
this, l'1r. Rice -- do you knor,r of any reason, or has tlrs.
Bozeman ever given you any reason why she didnrt sign in each
m<rrning by 7 t45?
A. l{el1, the reason, when we discussed it with Becky and the
other timer was that the area vras congested. But as r
explained here f could be at 7t45, and that's the time
students rvould come to the officc to buy anything. And that
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happens today, we havenrt changed anything.
A11 teachers are to check in at 7t45r dt that particular
time. And then students start coming in the office to buy
things.
Todayr all teachers check at 7135r ord students start
coming to the office after the belI sounds. If the teacher
and the student run together in the office, then the teacher
is late.
Q. Was there any congestion in the office that prevented her
from coming in to sign in before 7t45?
A. You would have congestion of teachersr Dot students.
0. And would the other teachers on your faculty be able to
sign in?
A. Yes.
Q. In fact, did you have any other teacher on your faculty
who failed to siqn in before 7:45, other than tlrs. Bozeman?
A. lJot on a continued basis. You may have one -- a teacher
who rrrissed it occasionally, but no continued basis.
Q. So that I underst,and, when you say ncontinuing", was this
a daily basis that she missed signing in?
A. Yes.
Q. Af ter this problem vras settled with Becky Neira, the AEA
representativer what did I,1rs. Bozeman do after signing in
after that?
A. I.lrs. Bozeman wouId sign in everyday af ter we discussed it,.
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But she would sign in at 7t45r but she rvourd be there before7:45. She had no problem with getting to work on tirne.rt was a probrem whether you sign in at the time you caneto work. But regulation is to sign in by 7t45r so it met therequirement for signing in.
Q' she wour'd sign in' if r understand, and put 7245?A. yes.
MR. I^IARD; I think thatrs allr youf, ltonor.
Q. Did any other teacher turn
A. Not after one __ one day or
is nine years ago.
in a lesson plan late?
more, to my knowledge. This
Q' r understand it's a 10t to .rememberr DIr. Rice, and it hasbeen d 10ng time ancl you may not remember very ryelr. and if youdonr t, just tell me. f understand that.
Did you ever write any letters to anybody about l.{rs.Bozeman turni ng in lesson plans late?
A' r donrt remember. rf lvtr. carpenter doesn,t have oDer thenpossibly not. If, he has it, f wrote it.
Q. So, you donrt remember ever givlng l4rs. Bozeman __A. I -- I remember talking to him about it.0. -- you donrt ever remember even giving her a writtentvarning' or anything rike that, about turning in resson plans
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late?
A. I donrt remernber.
Q. okay. Now --
A. I do remember I talked to her.
Q. Okay. Let me just see if I can understand. Therets no
dispute that !trs. Bozeman came in to teach school every
morning before 7t45?
A. Yes, she came.
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Q. She didnr t, mlss many daysT either; did she?
A. tlany days coming bef.ore 7t45?
Q. Miss many days f rom coming ancl teaching schooli she was
there?
A. She was regular in attendance.
Q. And she would -- she would be in her classroom before
7:45i i+ouldnrt she?
A. Yes.
Q. .And therer s no guestion but she taught her children?
A. Yes, she taught her clrildren.
Q. Therets no question she carried out disciplinary
f unctions ?
A. No guestion.
Q. In fact,r fou asked her to assist other teachers from time
to time in heJ.ping discipline students?
A. I canrt remember asking her to heLp discipline other
teacherst children. I handled that myself.
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Q' iiow about talking to other teachers about various things?A. No.
Q' you didnrt call 0n Mrs. Bozeman for assigtance frora timeto time?
A. Not that I can remernber.
Q' Did you ever pass up an,thing in writing sayingr nr
recommend that IUrs. Bozeman be terminatedo?
A. No.
Q. you never made a recommendation like that; did you?A. No.
I{R. I,IHATLEyI Thatts all, I have.
Q'
':' Rice, crid superintendent carpenter corne to you todiscuss t'laggie Bozeman and her performance as a teacher?A. yes.
Q' Did he ask you thing.s about problems you were having withher ?
A. yes.
Q. Did you relate to llr. Carpenter at the time what you haverelated here today regarding the lesson prans and theprofessional growth?
A. ygB.
I.!R. I{ARD: I think thatrs al.l.
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Rice/Recross
RECROSS* EXAMINrLTION
BY -t{R; -I{HATTEY:
0. Ithen did I-1r. Carpenter come to you and talk to you like
that?
A. I canr t remember dates nlne years aEo. I mean, he come to
III€I if yourre talking about dates.
Q. Was it around the time of Mrs. Bozemant s conviction that
he came to you?
A. No, we had talked before her conviction.
Q. And you told him, didnr t you--after you met with Becky
Neira and Mrs. Bozeman and resolved that sign-ln problem--you
told him after that; didntt you?
A. Irle didntt talk about that anymore.
0. It was never talked about it after that?
A. No. If -- lf the teacher was meeting the requirement,
even though it rnay not have been exactly the way we -- I
expected it, I didntt bother the superintendent rvith it.
Q. I{ellr letr s see if I can get the pIace. You said in
response to I4r. Itard's questions that the superintendent had
come to you and talked to you?
A. Yes.
Q. And two of the things you talked about was signing ln and
the lesson plans; right?
A. That was two of them.
Q. Okay. And' you have told us earlier in your testimony
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that the lesson plan thing was resolved before theconvictioD -- r mean' rrm sorry, the signing-in thing?A. Yes. I told you it was resolvedr rn€etlng the reguirement,and the reguirement that she sign in befor e 1t45.
But let me add thls: Uhen f say resolvedr suppssed tosign in at 7t4S and she came at Tz35r she still put 7t45onthe sheet.
Q. your re saylng that she __
A' -- but itrs before 7t45, because thatrs the reguirement.Q' *rertr you h'erenrt going to fire her because.she rrras comingin earlier than she was -- other than the time she was puttingdown, or you lrouLdnrt recommend she be fired?
A. r donrt fire any teachers. so r told you, r never
recommended to fire her. rrm not going to fire a teacher.Q' tfhat r an trying to get to is the problem that you hadabout signlng in was resolved back in the spring of ,7gi isthat righte
A' r sait it was resolved to meet the reguirements.
Q. Okay. So, that means that this dlscussion you hadthe superintendent rnust have been before that; is that
say?
wi th
fair to
A. Discussion we had
Q. possibly before.
bef ore?
A. f donrt knory.
would possibly
Do you have any
be before.
judEirnent as to how long
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Smith/Direct B8
Q. OkaY.
A. I say again, after nine years, I dont t remember dates and
all.
I4R. IIHATL,EY: Okay. Thank you.
TrlE CqrRT: !1r. Ric€r I think the question is perhaps
thlsr Do you remember whether you ever told the
superinEendent or the assistant superintendent that Mrs.
Bozeman had started signing in each norning?
Do you know -- do you remember whether you ever advised
them that she had started doing that?
TI{E VfITNESS: I donrt remember ever advising them. I
assume if I didnrt wrlte him anymore, then I would assume that
it had been resolved.
THE COURT: A11 right. You may step down. Thank
you.
(lvitness excused)
MR. WARD: Call Ralph Smithr your l{onor.
RALPI{ - S}ITTH; -'
DEEENDANIS I'WITIYA:SS ; . S?IOR}I
DI RBET " EXAITITXATIOTI
BY .I,IR; -WARD:
Q. I'Ihere do you live, 1,1r. Smith?
A, tive in Reform, A1abama.
0. I'ihatr s your position?
A. Superintendent of Bducation in Pickens County.
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Smith/Di rect 89
Q. How long have you served in that position?
A. Since iluLy I , 1985 .
Q. You were superintendent when this lar,rsuit was filed by
Mrs. Bozeman?
I{R. WHATLEY: Wer1l so stipulate.
fHE I,IITNESS: I donrt know -- remember when -- y€sr
when this particular motion was filed. yes.
Q. Ivlr. Smith, do you recall. Mrs. Bozeman, through her
attorneys, propounding some interrogatories and some request
for document,s to the Board of Education?
A. Some several months ago. Yes, sir.
0. Yesr sir. Dld you, at my reguest, make a search of the
records of the Board of Education accordlng to those requests
belng made by --
A. Yes.
Q. -- Mr. Whatley?
A. Yes.
0. ilave you produced everything that we had or you had at the
Board of Education offices?
A. As far as I know. IlIe looked for documents that we had,
and as far as I know, we turned over everything to you that we
had.
I,lR. I{MD: I think thatrs a}Ir your Honor.
I.lR. tr{HITTLEY: Nothing.
THE @URT: You may step down. Thanl< you.
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Pate/Di rect 90
(l'Iitness excused)
l.IR. 9IARD: Your Honor, f rLl call Jack Pate.
JACK - PATE; - DEF ENpANTS T ' BTITNESS; - SWORN
DIRECr- EXAMINATION
BY"[1R;"}IARDS
8. Where do you live, l4r. Pate?
A. In Gordo, Alabama.
Q. And are you employed?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where are you employed?
A. frm employed by Peco Farms in Gordo,
Q. Do you serve ln any elected office at this time?
A. At this timer f serve also on the pickens County
Commisslon, representing the Gordo District.
Q. How long have you been --
A. Since January of 1985.
Q. Prior to that, did you serve oit any elected
A. Served on the Board of Education for approximately eleven
year s.
Q. Did you hold any positions with the board?
A, Ifi th the board
0. Board of Bducat,ion?
A. I'Ior sir, ot.her than being just the board member.
0. Do you recall an occasion whenr in 1984, a letter from
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rdEe/Direct
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I{r. -- Attorney sol.omon seay r.ras
l,1rs. Bozeman?
read to the board regarding
in open sessir)n as opposed to executive
I A. yes, sir
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. v4r. f rernember your as our counsel., bringing the
I letter to the board and reading It to usr discussing it nithusr and taking action on it at the board meeting.Q' Do you know' or do you recalr at this tlme, Mr. pate,whether superintendent parham made any recommendatlon to theboard to reemploy t1rs. Bozeman?
:"".;;:'t
remember anv recommendarion beins made to
Q. Do you recal.l !lrs. Bozr
A. yes, sir.
"Ge' oezemon belng at that meeting?
Q. Do you recall her saying anythi ng?A. No, sir.
0. I,Ias this discussed
sessi on ?
A. open session.
0. Itr. pate, do you have any knoryledge t ot woulci you knorvr.rhether' or not lrlrs. Bozeman has ever participated in anypolltical campaign to see that you wereyour offices? rwu lvere defeated 1p a,,y of
A. Nor.sir, none.
0' were you on Hre Board of Education in November of tlgwhenSuperintendent Carpenter brought mattersregarding l,lrs. Bozcman?
-'r"b tttquEers to the board
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Pate,/Di rect-Cross 92
A. f uras.
Q. Do you recalI the reasons that he discussed with the
board, including not only a conviction by a Pickens County
jury, but also some other reasons concerning her performance
at Aliceville Elementary School?
A. I remember if -- I believe it was four other reagons other
than the felony conviction.
l.lR. WARDI I believe thatrs all, your Honor.
THE COURT: Cross-examinaEion.
CROSS-EXAtsINA?ION
BY''MR;.WHATTTY:
Q. Let me see if I can get somethlng right, l4r. Pate, Let me
show you nry cogf of Plaintiffr s Exhibit 35 and it says down
there in the second paragraph: "The Pickens County Board of
Bducation lras asked by Solomon .Seay to reinstate l.lrs.
Bozernan, the request was presented to the board and the
board clid <iecline the request f or reinstatemeltt. "
Ilowr thatrs truei isnrt it?
A. The question that l{r. I,.iard asked me was nob in 19B5, it
lras in rB4 when we got the letter from lt1r. Seay.
Q. vlell, did the board or did it not decline the request to
reinstate }lrs. Bozeman?
A. I would l'rave to look at the record of t,he minutes to see
if that stated that.
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PaEe/Cross 93
Q. So you donrt knovl one way or the other?
A. No.
tlR. WHATLEYI I thinl< thatrs all,
THE COT RT: A11 right. You may step down. Thank
you.
(Witness excused)
MR. WARD: Mr. Boyd Bdgeworth is here. lilr. Edgarorth
was a board member in 1982 when l{rs. Bozeman was terminated,
but he was notr ES f understand, a board member in 1984 when
the reguest was made. f would put him on --
l,!R. WHATLEY: f would stipulate to those factsr youf,
Honorr otrd we morre to dismiss him at this tlme.
ITIE COt RTI All right. He's dismissed.
IUR. WARD: One moment, your Honor. your Honorr we
call Hancy Fair.
THE COURT: I do, of cours€r simply remind counsel
Irm sure yourre already alrrare of it -- the depositions have
been received and have been reacl. So Eheret s no need to
repeat, mab,ters contained in the deposition.
I4R. I,IARD: Ir11 try not to, your Honor.
[:Ar.rcy FAIR; "pErE$DArrTSr rSITr{!]S$; SI{ORN
DIBIICT 'EXAI1LNATION
BY. !,IRJ 'V'IAP.D:
Q. ilhere do you liver I'lrs. Fair?
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rai r/Di rect 94
A. Gordo, Alabama.
Q. And, do you vrork nor.l?
A. Yes, I do.
Q. Vlhere is that?
A. With the Pickens County Board of Registrars in Pickens
County.
Q. Were you a member of the Board of Education at one time?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What were the dates?
A. From 1980 to t86. f served slx years.
Q. And were you -- do you remember the boarrl, then, in August
of '84 when Mr. Seay wrote regarding Mrs. Bozeman and her
employment, with the board?
A. Yesr sir.
Q. Do you recall that letter being discussed in open board
meeting?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you recall what Lhe vote of the board nas at that time,
or determination of the board was?
A. Our determination was that vre would let you ans\rer that
letter, respond to that letter.
l,lR. I'IARD: That I s all , your Honor .
l4R. I'IHATT,Ey: 9Ie11r I donrt have any questionsr your
Honor.
TIIB COURT: All right. You may step down. Thanlt
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you.
former
( rvi tne ss
MR. [,IARD: your Honor,
Superintendent parham.
witness will be
excused)
our final
Q. where do you live, Mr. parham?
A. Route 2, Box J.70, Reform.
Q. Are you employed nqw?
A. yesr Winfield City Schoo1s.
Q. Ilory 1ong have you treen so employed?
A. Three years.
Q. What did you do prior to that?
A. Superintencjent of Bducation, pickens County.Q. I{ere you superintendent August of tgg| when Irlr. SolomonSeay wrote regarding reemployment of ilrs. Bozeman?A. Ves, I was.
0' Did you bring that matter to the attention of the board atits next meeting?
A. yesr I did.
Q. ttrhat action do you recall the board taking?A' rf r remember correctr.yr r/e read the letter, the letterreguested reinstatement from a Ieave of absence.
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Ife discussed that the leave of absence had run outr do(l
responded for you to ansrr/er 1,1r. seay--or to ansvrer the letter.
Q. Did you receive contact f rom l*lr. seay prior to receivlng
the letter?
A. By telephone, I did.
Q. In 1985, did you have occaslon to receive contact from
another attorney representing l4rs. Bozeman?
A. No, sir. f was in Winfie1d.
Q. Have you ever been contacted by Mr. Jack Drake
regarding --
A. Yes, sir, about the sarne time. He called, and I referred
him to you and toLd him that f would inform you to give him a
coFy of the transcrlpt of the hearing.
Q. A11 right. On the occasion of the board meeting in August
of L9BA when the board considered Mr. Seayrs Letter, did you
make any recommendation to the board that she be reemployed at
that time?
A. No, sir, I did not.
l,lR. I{AI{D: Thatrs all.
cRoEs- ExAr4rNAtroN
BY '1.18;'-T,IHATLEy:
Q. Uas the request made by Solomon Seay or the request made
by Jack Drake discussed with the board members at any time,
other than in that August 1984 board meeting?
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A. IIot to rny memory, rlor sir.
0. Nowr you hacl 1,1r. lrlard at the August -- was it August 20th,
r B4?
A. f donrt remember the dates. Itts something like that.
Q. Okay. f rm not good with dates an] ray. But anp'ray, it was
somewhere around there in August. You had Mr. trtrard, your
attorney, present at the meeting?
A. Right.
Q. You donr t have him present at all meetings?
A. lgo, sir, it was because of the letter. I sent him a copy
of the letter and asked the legal ramifications. And of
course, r can read Tlt1e 16, f know you canrt give but two,
one-year leave of absence. And we discussed that.
And it -- like I said, it was relative to the letter and f
discussed it with the board attorney and asked him to be there
to ans\{er any guestions that might arise from the board.
Q. ilad you had any ciiscussions rvith any board nembers about
that letter prior to the meetinq?
A. Probably not. I donrt -- you I<now, I rvouldnrt s\rear, but
I donrt remember. It r.las not as a board. I may have told
someone I received a letter, but that vrould be the ext,ent of
i r,.
O. I{e11r 1et me ask you the same thing thaL I had asked the
earlier gentleman: Is this correct, the .statement irt the
letter to Jack Drake, the pickens County Board of Education
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was askeci by Solomon Seay to reinstate Mrs. Bozeman, this
requesL tvas presented to ttre board, and the board did decline
the request for reinstatement?
A. I vrasnr t superintendent when this letter tvas lrritten, but
as far as reinstatement, she i{as -- the letter -- I r^tished I
had a copy of it in front, of me -- it was to put her back at
the end of the leave of absence, the way f read and
interpreted the letter, but she was not on a leave of absence
at that time.
You can -- you donrt have an extended leave of absence,
they only last one for one year. And that was my
interpretation of the letterr dod I believe thatrs what the
attorney had agreed at the Lime.
0. I,lr. Parhamr you knew that at least that conviction t{as
major br prinary factor in the decision to terminate?
A. I l<now j.t rsas one factor. Yes, sir. One f actor.
Q. I{el1, I guess you i\relrenr t even superir:tend*nt r,rhen the
recommendation \{as nade, yc)u hadnr'L made the recomrnendation to
terminate her?
A. Ilor sir, f vras --
Q. You were teaching school in another school?
A. Taught math and physics at Pickens County Higir School.
Q. Okay. You beca'ne suy:erintcndent after that,?
A. Right. I was superintendent the date the hearing vras
helrJ, but tlre original l.et-ter rrent out and had trro continuous
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99Parham/Cross
leave of absences.
Q. And you knew that the first charge in that letter related
to the conviction?
A. Yesr sir.
Q. And you knew by the time you received Solomon Seayr s
letter that those charges had been dlsmissed, or the
convicLion had been set aside some way or another?
A. Some way or otherr ]z€s7 sirr in r84. They had not in 182.
Q. Yes, sir, in r84. frm talking about when you got Solomon
Seayr s letter.
A. Right.
Q. And did you ever discuss that with board members?
A. At that meeting, Itm sure there was some discussion.
As far as the letter and -- as far as the set aside, I
dont t, temember discussing what it was -- you knorv, I remember
Governor James did something.
ile put her on vrork release or sonething like thisr and it
vrent through appeals and appeals and appeals, and things would
be in the local paper. But I never receiveC any kind of
communication telling me exactly r.rhat did happen.
Q. Itellr lou knew from lilr. Seay that the charges had been
di smissed?
A. He also asked that she be reinstated from a leave of
absencer r^rhich couldnrt be possible.
0. Iriellr y€sr sir, but Irm -- you said you knerv Governor
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Janes had done somethingr pr.rt her on \,rork reLease or
sonnething -- but you knerv frorn I,1r. Scay, he said in his letter
that "the criminal charges against l.lrs. Bozeman have been
dismissedn?
A. Thatr s what he said, y€sr sir. He also said that --
'represents l4rs. I.laggie Bozeman, who was granted a leave of
absence frorn her teaching duties by the Pickens County Board
of Educationr pending deposition (sic) of the crlminal
chargestr. And you canr t do that. The board canr t supersede
State 1aw.
Q. I{e11, I'm merely trying to focus f or a second on the
criminal -- you knew at the time of that August '84 board
meeting that the criminal charges had been dismissed somehovr?
A. I already said ycsr some way or other. AgainT I'm not
sure how they irere dismissed, but something had been done.
Q. And you knevr that that had been the first charge on r,rhich
irer termina ti on r.ras ba seci?
A. Yes, sir. One --
Q. llevertheless, neither you nor anybody on the board chose
to do anything about that?
A. That didnt L change the other charges.
Q. And the other charges were charges that you had no
personal knowledge about whatsoever?
A. I had discussed this r+ith I.{r. i:lice and 1.1r. I'lo1liman bacit
in '82 bef orc. it becaine -- beiore \./e irccl tire hearing"
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0. A1l you knev is what people told you?
A. yes, slr.
Q. And l,lr. Rice neither testif ied nor was present for theJanuary , BZ hearing?
A' He was available that day, because school hras going on andI had hirn reaQy to come had we needed his testimony.Q. But he wasnrt at the board hearing?
A. No, sir.
Q. Whtle you were suFrerintendentr did you have anydocumentation about these other charges?
A. No, sir.
Q. You didnrt see any back in tg2?
A' r -- r didn't say that. r probably did discuss it withIrIr' Holliman, since he was there in the office, He was theassistant superintendentr E',d -- you said ,,seen, or ,,have inmy possessioin, they -- I did not.
Q. okay. you never sar{ any <iocumentation __
A. I didnrt say that.
Q' -- that support any of the charges?
A. rt,s been a number of years, but we did cliscuss it and rrvould think that r probably tooked at the folders and so on tnjust make sure that, you knowr what we had in the office andwhat vas there' r did 100k at the retters that had been sentprior to that by l,tr. Carpenter. And, sor based on the factthat I looked at thoser probably I did,
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Q. But,, do you recall seeing any leEters other than the
Itlovember 6th Letter?
A. To specifically say I recall a specific letter r trot sir.
l'lR. I{HATLEY: Thatr s a}I.
REDTRECT" EXAMTNATTON
BY-IIIR; -WARD:
Q. DIr. Parhamr what was the reason Mr. Rice eras not caLred to
the board hearirrg on January 8th, tBZ?
A. School $ras tn session. And we had dlscussed it prior to
the hearing and said that we would cal} him, as needed, so he
would not have to be alray from the school.
Q. Did I'lrs. Bozernan appear at the hearing?
A, No, sir.
Q. Is- the action the board took regarding tlr. Seayrs
letter --
l,lR. I.IARD: your Honor, if I mayr I may need to refer
to that exhibit -- August of t 84 board minutes.
fHE COURT: Exhibit 32 is the minutes of December 14.
t'ihich minutes do you want?
l'IP.. ITIARD: This is August, of 1984, August 20th,
THB COURT: Thatrs Exhibit 34.
I'lR. I{/\RD: A11 right, sir.
fH0 CffJRT: Do you wish those?
I'lR. trr/ARD: If I m;.ry revier,r tI:at.
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Pa rham./ l?edi re ct 103
(). l,lr. parham, rrm going to shor,r you a document that,s been
identified as the minutes of the board dated August 20,1984,
ask you to revier.r the portion that, refers to l.lrs. Bozeman and
I{r. Seayrs letter.
A. (t{itnesses complies. ) Yes, sir.
O. fs the action that the board took that evening regarding
I.lr. Seayt s letter accurat.ely reflected in those minutes?
A. Yes, sir, I believe so. If f rememberr there vrasnrt a
whole lot of discusslon. You were there to ansaer guestions.
The letterr to mer implled go back as a tenured teacher.
And I read the letterr you knorv, like a continued leave of
absencer dfld you agreed with me when we discussed lt.
But we did carry it to the boardr brought it before ttre
board, brought it to their at,bention, And authotized you, of
course -- it says here I'notion by t'Ir. Parkr secondod by ['1r.
Auste11", to let you answer the letter, since it r.vas a lega1
problem andr fou knorr;r proceeded f rom there.
Q. oid i,irs. Bozenan, I,1r. Seayr or anyon(3 else on her behalf,
ever corne to you and ask you to set, a hearing on the
charges --
A. No, sir.
Q. regardi ng trer empl oyment ?
r\. llo' sir, they did not.. It r.ras alivays based on just
assuming cluties; go bacP, and assurne ciul:ies. And Lhis is the
only writtcn conrmunication f had.
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Parham./ Redi rect to4
Q. And when the letter was writEen to tlr. Drake in september
of 1985r w€r€ fou the superintendent at that time?
A. f was superintendent from July of f81 to June of tB5.
Q. Do you ever remember getting any kind of leLter from Frr.
Drake?
A. f dont t remember any letter. He did call me and talk to
me. And at that timer f referred him to you and ca11ed you
after the -- after I talked Lo him and had told hlm that you
would provide him with a copy of the hearing transcript.
[IR. WARD: All right. Thatr s all, your Honor.
IIIR. I{IIATT,Eyl Nothing f urther.
THE COURT: All right. You may step doln. Thank
your
(ttitness excused)
lIR. I,IARD: Defendants rest.
TIIE COURT: Any rebuttal evidence on behalf of
pl aintiff ?
I{R. I,IHATLEY: Cou1d vre have just one second? Nothing
f urtherr youE llonor.
TIIE COURT: All rlght. Irm going to take about a
ten-minute recess and then return to announce findings and
concl usi. ons.
Counsel have each presented the Court with memorandums of
law and arguments, so I dontt know that argurnent is needetl.
tlaybe I should inquire if therer s any suoplernental argument
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that either side would like to present before I take that
brief recess.
l,lR. WARD: From our standpoint, your Honor, I think
therers been enough redundancy this morning alreadyr and that
would just be the same from us.
I,lR. WHATf,Eyl Your Honor, I dontt think vre need to.
At some pointr w€ might need to address the Eleventh Arnen&nent
immunity question, because f have noE researched that question
lately .
THE COURT: Take about a ten-minute recess and then
Ir 11 return to announce findings and conclusions.
(Recess aL 12r10 p.m. until 12220 p.m.)
(Findings of E'act and Conclusions of Law $rere given at
this timer which are already on file wlth the District Court
Clerk in a separate blnder.)
*****
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gTAI.I.EJC"e-T.E
'I hereby certify that the foregoing ls a correct
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transcript of the proceedlngs from the record in the
above-entt tl ed matter.
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Penny L. Enoch Date