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

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE F I ks E D 
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA 

~ NORTHERN DIVISION 

  

SEP 41986 

THOMAS C. CAVER, CLER® 

JOHN DILLARD, et als, * DEPUTYELERK 

PLAINTIFFS * 

VS. * CASE NO. 85-T-1332-N 

CRENSHAW COUNTY, ALABAMA, * 

et als, : 
* 

DEFENDANTS 

ORDER_TENTA
TIVELY 

APPROVING ETOWAH COUNTY 

COMPROMISE AND REQUIRING NOTICE TO THE CLASS 

At a conference in chambers on _ September 4, r 1986, 

counsel for the Etowah County Plaintiffs and Defendants informed 

the Court that they had reached a final compromise and 

settlement of this action with respect to Etowah County and 

sought this Court's tentative approval of its terms. 

Under the terms of the proposed settlement, the parties have 

agreed to the entry of an injunction requiring that the 

elections for the Etowah County Commission be conducted from six 

single-member districts, while allowing the incumbents to serve 

out their present terms or terms for which they will be elected 

in the 1986 General Election. 

The Court is of the opinion that the proposed consent decree 

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

tentatively, subject to any objection by members of the 

plaintiff class. 

 



  

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

proposed compromise should be given to the members of the class 

of black citizens of Etowah County, Alabama. 

Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that the Defendant, Etowah 

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

published in the Gadsden Times once a week for three successive 

weeks prior to _ ___ _September 30 __ oe 1986. Maps of the 

districts shall be displayed in the County Courthouse during the 

normal business hours. 

It is further ORDERED that the copies of the attached notice 

be provided by the defendant Etowah County, Alabama, to 

representatives of all local radio and television stations and 

to all representatives of media and black community 

organizations in Etowah County, who may request a copy thereof. 

Thereafter on October 9 + 1986, oi Go a Go SG Gf So Go i Go Ga GS GU Gow Ge Gum Cu. Gen Gwen Cu Ga o— o— 

at 4:00 _ o'clock, p.. m., this Court will conduct a hearing 
2nd Floor Courtroom, 

in the Federal Courthouse in Montgomery, Alabama,/to consider 

objections by members of the class of the proposed compromise 

and settlement. 

DONE this the %th__day cof September , 1986. — a a oun a— — CG Cn — — — —. CC So Go. Do S— OG a a— 

Sia STATES DISTRICT J 

   



° 

  

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

~ NORTHERN DIVISION 

JOHN DILLARD, et als, * 

PLAINTIFFS * 

VS. * CASE NO. 85-T7-1332-N 

CRENSHAW COUNTY, ALABAMA, * 

et als, 
* 

DEFENDANTS 

4 J I i 

TO: ALL BLACK CITIZENS OF ETOWAH COUNTY, ALABAMA: 

In this class ation brought by Dr. Spencer Thomas, Mr. 

Nathan Carter and Mr. Wayne Rowe, on behalf of themselves and 

all black citizens of Etowah County, Alabama, challenging the. 

election system for the Etowah County Commission, the named 

plaintiffs and the Etowah County Defendants have informed this 

Court that they wish to compromise and finally to resolve this 

lawsuit on the following basis: 

1. A final injunction would be issued against the conduct 

of further elections of the Etowah County Commission under the 

at-large election scheme provided presently by state law. 

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

the Etowah County Commission will consist of 6 commissioners 

elected from single-member districts. The present Chairman of 

 



  

the Etowah County Commission, who will be elected in the 

November, 1986 general election for a new six year term, and who 

would take office on the second Tuesday after the first Monday 

in January, 1987, will continue to serve as chairman of the 

Etowah County Commission until the second Tuesday after the 

first Monday in January, 1993, however, during said time he 

shall not be entitled to a vote on the commission. Beginning on 

the second Tuesday after the first Monday in January, 1993, the 

office of the Chairman of the Commission shall be abolished and 

the Commission shall select and employ an Etowah County 

Executive who shall be the chief executive officer of the County 

and shall be responsible for the execution and implementation of 

the policies adopted by the commission. The Etowah County 

Executive may not be a member of the Etowah County Commission. 

3. Under the proposed settlement, the present incumbent 

district commissioners for Districts 2 and 3, whose present 

terms expire in 1988, will serve as district commissioners for 

Districts 2 and 3 until District elections for Districts 2 and 3 

are held in 1988, at which time candidates for said positions 

would run for new four year pati The commissioners for 

District 1 and 4, who will be elected in the 1986 general 

election for a four year term, beginning January, 1987, will 

serve as district commissioners for Districts 1 and 4, until 

District elections are held for Districts 1 and 4 in 1990, at 

which time candidates for Districts 1 and 4 will run for new 

four year terms. Thereafter the terms of the six district 

commissioners will be staggered with either two or four members 

running each two years. 

 



y 

  

4. Under the proposed plan, in the meantime, a special 

election will be held in 1986 to elect new commissioners from 

single-member districts 5 and 6, one of which is the majority 

black district. The special primary election will be held 

November 4, 1986, with any necessary run-off November 26, 1986. 

The special general election will be held December 16, 1986. 

The persons elected in this special election will serve for an 

initial four-year term, during which time they shall have all 

the rights, privileges, duties and immunities of the other 

incumbent commissioners. When the commissioners elected in 1992 

take office on the second Tuesday after the first Monday in 

January, 1993, there shall be selected by the Commission a 

President or Presiding Officer of the Etowah County Commission, 

who shall preside at meetings and shall set the agenda, but said 

President or Presiding officer shall have no other additional 

authority nor shall he receive more compensation than any other 

District Commissioners. The President or Presiding Officer of 

the Etowah County Commission shall be rotated among the six 

District commissioners with each of them serving a one year term 

beginning on the second Puesday after the first Monday in 

January of each year and ending at the same time the following 

year. The permanent order of rotation shall be fixed by lot by 

the District Commissioners at the meeting of the county 

commission on the second Tuesday after the first Monday in 

January, 1993. 

5. The parties have agreed to a plan for the six 

single-member districts boundaries. Maps showing the boundaries 

 



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

business hours at the Etowah County Courthouse. 

6. Plaintiffs are the’ prevailing party in this action and 

are entitled to recover reasonable attorneys fees and expenses. 

The amount of attorneys fees and expenses will be determined by 

the court following a final approval of the proposed compromise. 

Fees and expenses have not been part of the negotiations leading 

to this proposed settlement. 

7. The court has tentatively approved the settlement of 

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

lawsuit is a class action, this court has the responsibility of 

insuring that the interest of the entire of class of black 

citizens of Etowah County are adequately protected before giving 

its final approval to the proposed settlement. 

Accordingly, if any black citizen of Etowah County, Alabama, 

objects to the proposed compromise and final resolution of this 

lawsuit, he or she should set out the objection in writing, 

identify this case by its name and number and mail the written 

objection to Mr. Thomas C. Caver, Clerk of the United States 

District Court, Middle Ditrict of Alabana, P. O. Box 711, 

Montgomery, Alabama 36101, or deliver such objection to the 

Office of the Clerk, Second Floor, U.S. Courthouse, Montgomery, 

Alabama, on or before the October 

In addition this Court will conduct a public hearing on the 9th_ 

October 1986, : .m. o'clock, 
Second Floor Courtroom, 

at which time it will consider all objections from members of 

the plaintiff class to the proposed settlement, whether made in  



  

writing or in person. 

DONE this the 4th day of September r-1986. nn Co na gu a Oc cot a a mo ow oa Got mee Gm Sn Grey ET a STO8 Cw 

V7 int Lola ee BH 
UNITED STATES DISTRICT CLERK