Supplemental Answers of Plaintiff O.B. Purifoy to Defendants' Interrogatories

    IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE 

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA 

SOUTHERN DIVISION 

CITY OF MOBILE, ALABAMA; GARY A. 

GREENOUGH, ROBERT B. DOYLE, JR., 

and LAMBERT C. MIMS, individually 
and in their official capacities 

as Mobile City Commissioners, 

WILEY IL.. BOLDEN, REV. R. L. HOPE, * 

CHARLES JOHNSON, JANET O. LeFLORE, * 

JOHN L. LeFLORE, CHARLES MAXWELL, * 

OSSIE B. PURIFOY, RAYMOND SCOTT, * 

SHERMAN SMITH, OLLIE LEE TAYLOR, * 

RODNEY O. TURNER, REV. ED WILLIAMS, * 

SYLVESTER WILLIAMS and MRS. F. C. * 

WILSON, * 
* 

Plaintiffs, * CIVIL ACTION 
* 

VS. * NO. 75-297-H 
* 
* 
* 

. 
* 
* 

* 
* Defendants. 

SUPPLEMENTAL ANSWERS OF PLAINTIFF 

TO DEFENDANTS' INTERROGATORIES 
  

Undersigned plaintiff submits his supplemental answers 

to defendants' interrogatories propounded to each plaintiff 

on or about August 25, 1975, as follows: 

2. See Appendix A. 

3. See Appendix A. 

4. See Appendix A. 

31. Plaintiffs do not claim that the City of Mobile's 

form of government has discriminated against any of the groups 

of persons referred to in interrogatories 6-30, except for the 

black citizens of Mobile. 

32. When the City of Mobile's form of government 

was instituted in 1910, it was the design and intention of 

those persons who constructed and participated in the Mobile 

government to dilute the votes of black citizens and deny 

them equal access to the political processes. Thus, the 

first discriminatory action was the institution of the City's 

 



  

present form of government; the names of the particular per- 

sons having the described discriminatory intent are unknown 

to plaintiffs. Since the institution of the City's present 

form of government, the failure to alter or amend this form 

of government consitutes a continuing discriminatory omission. 

The names of all those persons who have supported this form 

of government, with its discriminatory effect, are unknown 

to the plaintiffs, and, indeed, it would be impossible to 

know and list the names of all such persons. A recent act 

evidencing the subject intentional discrimination was the 

opposition exhibited by Messrs. Doyle and Mims to the refer- 

endums that would have altered the City of Mobile's form of 

government. Additionally, all three of the present City 

Commissioners are parties to the continuing discriminatory 

omission, described above, of failing to alter or amend the 

City's form of government. 

41. (c)-(y) Plaintiff has no opinion. 

43. Yes. Since blacks are generally poorer than 

whites, the filing fee required of candidates is a greater 

percentage of disposable income of potential black candi- 

dates than of potential white candidates. 

45. See Appendix A. 

50. The only factor mentioned above in No. 49 

which should be retained in a constitutional system is elec- 

tion by a majority vote. As to other factors, see my ori- 

ginal answer to this question. 

51B. (a) The Commission form of government implies 

a multi-member panel with (Executive and Legislative) powers. 

If such a panel were to have individually-assigned powers 

which were not jointly-held under the applicable law, then 

any plan of Commission government would still be an at-large 

system and thus unconstitutional given the prevailing political 

and racial situation in Mobile. 

 



  

(b) No, see (a). 

(c) Not necessarily. 

(d) The Executive may be elected at-large. 

I know of no limitations of the Executive powers which con- 

cern this action. 

(e) The legislative body must have a suffi- 

cient number of members so that there is no invidious 

discrimination against political or racial minorities. At 

this point I do not know the exact minimum number. 

(£) In my opinion all members of the legis- 

lative branch should be elected from single-member dis- 

tricts. The principles for division would be lack of 

invidious discrimination against political or racial mi- 

norities. For the minimum number, see (e) above. 

(g) In my opinion, the requirement of a 

majority vote, isolated from other factors such as multi- 

member districts, is not unconstitutional per se. 

53. Yes, the use of at-large elections denies 

blacks a meaningful voice in city government and dilutes 

their voting power. 

53.(c) The problem with the type of election 

system proposed in (a) is the at-large voting factor, 

not the number of districts. Allowing all the residents 

of a political unit to decide who shall represent each 

district provides nothing but geographical dispersion, 

not locally chosen representatives. 

59. (a)-(b) Plaintiffs do not presently 

possess sufficient information on which to base an opinion 

on this matter. Plaintiffs may form an opinion when they 

acquire such information, in which case, defendants will 

be supplied with a supplemental response to this inter- 

rogatory. 

(c)=-(u) Plaintiff has no opinion. 

 



  

64. See Appendix A. 

65.(f) See Appendix A. 

67.-114. See Appendix A. 

120. See Appendix A. 

128. See Appendix A. 

129. See Appendix A. 

131. See Appendix A. 

134. See Appendix A. 

135. See Appendix A. 

 



  

  

  

  

J. U. darhah & 
GREGORY VB. [STEIN 

CRAWFORD & BLACKSHER 
1407 DAVIS AVENUE 
MOBILE, ALABAMA 36603 

EDWARD STILL, ESQUIRE 
SUITE 601 - TITLE BUILDIRG 
2030 THIRD AVENUE, NORTH 
BIRMINGHAM, ATABAMA 35203 

Attorneys for Plaintiffs 

STATE OF ALABAMA ) 
. : SS 

COUNTY OF MOBILE ) 

Personally appeared before me, the rg authority 

in and for said County and State, s20 A f= ZZ SALE, 
eg 

7 

known to me, who upon being first duly sworn 5 me, on oath 

ill deposes and says that 7/7 is informed and believes, and on 

  

—- 

such information and belief states, that the foregoing answers 

to interrogatories propounded by the defenda: are true. 
i 

Before me on this the LZ day of A ff AAT 
7 
Ld 

  

    

  

ries bo I dh 
os \ 

a A Alice Dy 
Tia XY PUBLLC, MOBILE COUNTY, ATABANA 

My Comm. Expires March 8, 1977 
— 

  

SEAL: 

 



  

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 
  

LTH 
T do hereby certify that on this the <“—— day of January, 

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

Interrogatories upon all counsel of record as listed below by 

depositing same in United States Mail, postage prepaid, or by 

Charles Arendall, Esquire 
David Bagwell, Esquire 
Post Office Box 123 
Mobile, Alabama 36601 

S. R. Sheppard, Esquire 
Legal Department 
City of Mobile 
Mobile, Alabama 36601 

: A | 4 04/4 

: ’ CA IF 
\ NY Sonu yg. 54 

J. U. BLACKSHER 
GREGORY BZ STEIN 

   
  

CRAWFORD & BLACKSHER 

1407 DAVIS AVENUE 
MOBILE, ALABAMA 36603 

EDWARD STILL, ESQUIRE 

SUITE 601 - TITLE BUILDING 
2030 THIRD AVENUE, NORTH 
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA 35203 

JACK GREENBERG, ESQUIRE 
JAMES NABRITT, ESQUIRE 

CHARLES WILLIAMS, III., ESQUIRE 

SUITE 2030 
10 COLUMBUS CIRCLE 
NEW YORK, N. Y. 10019 

ttorneys for Plaintiffs 

 



  

APPENDIX A 
  

2.2: M0. 

3. Yes. Mrs. Consuello Weatherington 
St. Roberts, Mo. 
Ages 32 

Etta M. Callier 
St. Roberts, Mo. 
Age: 24 

Joseph B. Purifoy 
West Berlin, Germany 

Age: 29 

4, Self: (a) Answered in original answers. 

(b) Morgan Street Rented 
Rosa Drive : Own 

(c) Answered in original answers. 

(d) Ward No. 10; Voting place at Davis Avenue, 
1959-1963. 
Ward No. 3; Voting place at Stanton Road, 
1963-present. (Now MW-33-99-1). 

(e) Democrat, since I've been voting. 

Consuelloc: (a) 19581; 1961. 

(b) Same as (b) under "self"; lived with me. 

(c) Yes. 
(i) Mobile; when she became 21. 
(31)-{iii) No. 

(d) Same as (d) under "self". 

{e) I do not know, 

Etta: (a) 1961: 1961. 

(b) Same as (b) under "self"; lived with me. 

(c) Yes. 
(i) Mobile; when she became 21. 
{1i)~{i1ii) No. 

(d) Same as (d) under "self". 

(e) I do not know. 

45.  {a) Yes. 

(b)-(c) Approximately 2 years ago, I requested re- 

surfacing of streets in my area. During -the next paving 

venture, about 3 months later, the streets were re-surfaced. 

65. (f) Answered in original answers. 

 



  

67. Yes. 

68. N/A. 

69... Yes. 

70... B/A. 

71. Yes, 

72. “N/A. 

73. Yes. 

74. R/A. 

76. N/A. 

77. Yes. 

78. N/A. 

79. I have no opinion. 

80. N/A. 

8l. Yes. 

82. . N/A. 

83. Yes. 

84. N/A. 

85. (a) "Yes. 

(hb) Yes. 

(c) Yes. 

{(d) Yes. 

86. N/A. 

87. Yes, 

58." N/A. 

89, Yes. 

90. N/A. 

91. Yes. 

Sz. ‘N/A. ’ 

93... Yes. 

94. N/A. 

 



  

07.4% NO. 

98. Blacks would probably favor a decrease because blacks 

see fewer tax dollars returned to the black sections of town 

in the form of improvements. 

99. Yes. 

100.3 N/A. 

101. Yes. 

102... N/A. 

103. I have no opinion. 

104. N/A. 

105. I have no opinion. 

106... N/A. 

107. Yes. 

108. N/A. 

109. Yes. 

110, N/A. 

111, Yes. 

112. N/A. 

113. Yes. 

114. N/A. 

120. Answered in original answers. 

128. Possibly yes. 

129. Bo one. 

131. Bolden since 1960 
Hope 8 or 9 years 
Janet LeFlore 6 or 7 years 
John LeFlore 18 years 
Maxwell 20 years 
Scott 10 or 17 years 

Smith 8 or 10 years 
Taylor 4 or 5 years 
E. Williams 10-12 years 
Wilson - 20 years 

134. Mr. LeFlore, I believe: at a Non-Partisan Voter's 

League Meeting--the time I do not specifically recall,