Notice; Joint Motion for Notice and Approval of Proposed Compromise and Settlement; Consent Decree; Order Tentatively Approving Compromise and Requiring Notice

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BLACKSHER, MENEFEE & STEIN, P.A. ’ 

ATTORNEYS AT LAW ie A 

JAMES U. BLACKSHER : 

GREGORY B. STEIN LARRY T. MENEFEE gl 

2 
405 VAN ANTWERP BUILDING Jan uary 8, 1887 FIFTH FLOOR TITLE BUILDING 
P.O. Box 1051 300 218T STREET, NORTH 

MOBILE, AL 36633-1051 BIRMINGHAM, AL 35203 

(205) 433-2000 (205) 322-7300 0R 322-7313 

Hon. Myron H. Thompson 
United States District Judge 
Middle District of Alabama 
U.S. Courthouse 
15 Lee Street 
P.O. Box 713 
Montgomery, Alabama 36106 

Re: John Dillard, et al. v. Crenshaw County, et al., 
Civil Action No. 85-T-1332-N 
  

Dear Judge Thompson: 

Mr. James Speake, as attorney for the Lawrence County School 
Board, and I have today filed a Joint Motion for Notice and 
Approval of Proposed Compromise and Settlement and related 
documents. A copy is enclosed for your convenience. We would 
appreciate a hearing at Your Honor's convenience. 

Sincerely, 

BLACKSHER, MENEFEE & STEIN, P.A. 

    

  

LTM:b jj 

Enclosures 

CC; All Counsel 

 



BLACKSHER, MENEFEE & STEIN, P.A. 

ATTORNEYS AT LAW 

JAMES U. BLACKSHER 

GREGORY B. STEIN LARRY T. MENEFEE 

405 VAN ANTWERP BUILDING FIFTH FLOOR TITLE BUILDING 

P.O. Box 1051 January 9, 1987 300 218T STREET, NORTH 

MOBILE, AL 36633-1051 BIRMINGHAM, AL 35203 

(205) 433-2000 (205) 322-7300 0R 322-7313 

Mr. Thomas C. Caver 
United States District Clerk 
Middle District of Alabama 
U.S. Courthouse 
15 Lee Street 
P.O. Box%1] 
Montgomery, Alabama 36106 

Re: John Dillard, et al, v. Crenshaw County, et al,, 
Civil Action No. 85-T-1332-N 
  

Dear Mr. Caver: 

Please file the enclosed documents in the above- 
referenced case. 

Sincerely, 

BLACKSHER, MENEFEE & STEIN, P.A. 

BY: 
  

| Tere 

Yarry [T. Mendfee J 

LTM:b jj 

Enclosures 

 



  

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA 
NORTHERN DIVISION 
  

JOHN DILLARD, “ET AlL., 

Plaintiffs, 

Vv. CIVIL ACTION NO. CV 85-T-1332-N 

CRENSHAW COUNTY, ALABAMA 
ET AL ., 

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Defendants. 

NOTICE TO. CLASS 
  

TO: ALL BLACK CITIZENS OF LAWRENCE COUNTY, ALABAMA: 

In this class action brought by Hoover White, Mose 

Jones, Jr., and Arthur Turner, On behalf of themselves and all 

black citizens of Lawrence County, Alabama, challenging the 

election system for the Lawrence County Board of Education, the 

named plaintiffs and the defendant Lawrence County Board of 

Education 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 members of the Lawrence County 

Board of Education under the at-large election scheme provided 

presently by state law. 

2. Under the proposed settlement, all incumbent Board 

of Education members would serve until replaced by their 

successors elected in regular primary and general elections in 

1988. Those elections for all five seats would be conducted from 

 



  

single-member districts. The boundaries of those single-member 

districts would be the same as those utilized for the Lawrence 

County Commission. The normal terms of office for Board of 

Education members would continue to be six-year staggered terms. 

However, in order to stagger the terms, the member of the 

Lawrence County Board of Education elected in 1988 from District 

3 shall serve an. initial two-year term until an successor 1s 

elected in 1990. The members of the Lawrence County Board of 

Education elected in-1988 from Districts 1 and 4 shall. serve an 

initial four-year term until successors are elected in 1992. 

Members of the Lawrence County Board of Education elected in 1988 

from Districts 2 and 5 shall serve for six years until 1994, 

3. On a temporary basis, the Lawrence County Board of 

Education shall be expanded to six members. The named 

plaintiffs, in thelr capacity as vepresentagijves of the plaintiff 

class of all-black citizens in Lawrence County, after approval of 

this consent decree by the court, shall promptly submii a Vist of 

not less than three qualified persons to the Lawrence County 

Board of Education which shall select from that list one person 

who shall be sworn in as a member of the Lawrence County Board of 

Education. This new member shall serve as an at-large member like 

all other board members only until successors are elected and 

take office in 1988. This member shall have all the rights, 

powers and duties as the other members of the Lawrence County 

Board of Education. The votes of the six-member board shall be 

recorded in the same manner as they have or would have heretofore 

 



  

been recorded. 

4. 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 final approval of the proposed 

compromise. Fees and expenses have not been part of the 

negotiations leading to this proposed settlement. 

5. The court has tentatively approved the settlement of 

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

Yawsuit: is a class action, this court has the responsibility of 

assuring that the interest of the entire class of black citizens 

of Lawrence County are equally protected before giving its final 

approval to the proposed settlement. Accordingly, if any black 

citizen of Lawrence County, Alabama, objects to the proposed 

compromise and final resolution of this lawsuit, he or she should 

set oul the objection in writing, identifying this case by its 

name and number and mail the written objection to Mr. Thomas C. 

Caver,. Clerk of the United States District Court for the Middle 

District of Alabama, P.0. Box 711, Montgomery, Alabama 36106, or 

deliver such objection to the Office of the Clerk, second floor 

of the U.S. Courthouse, Montgomery, Alabama, on or before the 

  

  

day of 540987 In addition, this court will 

conduct a public hearing on the day of 1 

1987 at O'Clock Jn... at which time {ta wi¥l consider all 

objections from members of the plaintiff class to the proposed 

settlement, whether made in writing or in person. 

 



  

Dated this day of , ¥987, 
  

  

UNITED STATES DISTRICT CLERK 

 



  

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA 

NORTHERN DIVISION 
  

JOHN DILLARD, ET AL., 

Plaintiffs, 

VS. CIVIL ACTION NO. CV 85-T-1332-N 

CRENSHAW COUNTY, ALABAMA 

ET AL., 

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Defendants. 

JOINT MOTION FOR NOTICE AND APPROVAL 
OF PROPOSED COMPROMISE AND SETTLEMENT 
  

Plaintiffs, Hoover White, Mose Jones, Jr. and Arthur Turner, 

on behalf of themselves and as representatives of the class 

composed of all black citizens of Lawrence County, Alabama and 

proposed defendant, the Lawrence County Board of Education, through 

their undersigned attorneys jointly move the court as follows: 

l. To add the Lawrence County Board of Education as a party 

defendant to this action, pursuant to Rules 19 and 20, 

Fed.R.Civ.P., as a person needed for a just adjudication of this 

action, and 

a. The Lawrence County Board of Education is composed of five 

members elected at-large to numbered places with majority-vote, 

runoff requirements. The elections are partisan and the members 

serve six-year staggered terms. 

b. At least since Reconstruction, no black citizen has been 

elected to the Lawrence County Board of Education. The findings of 

this court concerning the effect of at-large elections for the 

 



  

Lawrence County Commission on the votes of black citizens of 

Lawrence County are in all material respects equally applicable to 

elections for the Lawrence County Board of Education. 

2. To approve the proposed consent decree and notice to the 

class attached to this motion and, following notice to the 

plaintiff class and an opportunity for objections of class members 

to be heard by the court, finally to approve the proposed 

compromise and settlement proposed herein. 

: : Te 
Respectfully submitted this q day of January, 1987. 

BLACKSHER, MENEFEE & STEIN 

Fifth Floor Title Building 
300 Twenty-First Street North 
Birmingham, Alabama 35203 
(205) "322-7300 

  
v Ca, 

ARRY /[I. MENHFEE 

JAMES (U. BLACKSHE 

TERRY G. DAVIS 
SEAY & DAVIS 
732 Carter Hill Road 
P.O. Box 6125 
Montgomery, Alabama 36106 
(205) 834-2000 

DEBORAH FINS 

JULIUS L. CHAMBERS 

NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE FUND 

99 Hudson Street, 16th Floor 

New York, New York 10013 

(202): 219-1900 

EDWARD STILL 

REEVES & STILL 

714 South 29th Street 

Birmingham, Alabama 35233-2810 

(205) 322-6631 

Attorneys for Plaintiffs 

 



  

    

    

, SPEAKE §& REICH 
ing Street N.W. 

t 

lgbama 35650 

  

JAMESVG. SPEAKE 

Attorney for Lawrence County 
Board of Education 

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 
  

This is to certify that a copy of the foregoing has been 

served upon the following by depositing same in the United States 

Mail, postage prepaid, on this the 9% aay of January, 1987: 

H. R. Burnham, Esq. 
Herbert D. Jones, Jr., Esq. 

BURNHAM, KLINEFELTER, HALSEY, 

JONES & CARTER 

401 SouthTrust Bank Building 
P.O. Box 1618 
Anniston, Alabama 
(CALHOUN COUNTY) 

36202 

David R. Boyd, Esq. 
BALCH & BINGHAM 
2 Dexter Avenue 

P.O. Box 78 
Montgomery, Alabama 
(LAWRENCE COUNTY, 

36101 

W. OO. Rirk, Jr., 

CURRY & KIRK 

Phoenix Avenue 

P.O. Box A-B 

Carrollton, 

Esq. 

Alabama 35447 
(PICKENS COUNTY) 

SMITH & LIGON) 

James W. Webb 

WEBB, CRUMPTON & MCGREGOR 

166 Commerce Street 

P.O. Box 238 

Montgomery, Alabama 
(ESCAMBIA COUNTY) 

36633 

D. L. Martin, Esq. 

215 South Main Street 
Moulton, Alabama 35650 

(LAWRENCE COUNTY, SMITH & LIGON) 

John A. Nichols, Esq. 
LIGHTFOOT, NICHOLS & SMYTH 

Bricken Building 
P.O. Box 215 

Luverne, Alabama 36049 

(CRENSHAW COUNTY INTERVENORS) 

 



  

Rick Harris, Esq. 
MOORE, KENDRICK, GLASSROTH, 

HARRIS, BUSH & WHITE 

410 S. Perry Street 
P.O. Box 910 
Montgomery, Alabama 
(CRENSHAW COUNTY) 

36102 

Jack ‘Ployd, Esq. 
FLOYD, KEENER & CUSIMANO 

816 Chestnut Street 

Gadsden, Alabama 35999 

(ETOWAH COUNTY)    

  

Warren Rowe, Esq. 

ROWE & SAWYER 

119 E. College Avenue 
P.O. Box 150 
Enterprise, Alabama 36331 

Barry D. Vaughn, Esq. 
PROCTOR & VAUGHN 

121 North Norton Avenue 

Alabama 35150 

AHA 
  

Jamds G. | dpeake 

 



  

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA 

NORTHERN DIVISION 
  

JOHN DILLARD, ET AL., 

Plaintiffs, 

VS. CIVIL ACTION NO. CV 85-T-1332-N 

CRENSHAW COUNTY, ALABAMA 
ET AL., 

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Defendants. 

CONSENT DECREE 
  

Plaintiffs and defendant Lawrence County Board of Education 

having submitted the following terms of settlement and for good 

cause shown, it is HEREBY ORDERED that defendant Lawrence County 

Board of Education, its agents, attorneys, employees and those 

acting in concert with them or at their discretion, Lawrence 

County, gua county; Richard I. Proctor; in his official capacity as 

Probate Judge of Lawrence County; Larry Smith, in his official 

capacity as Circuit Clerk of Lawrence County, and Dan Ligon, in his 

official capacity as Sheriff of Lawrence County, are ENJOINED from 

conducting the elections for the Lawrence County Board of Education 

under the present at-large election systems, and are FURTHER 

ENJOINED as follows: 

1. Elections for the Lawrence County Board of Education shall 

be conducted from five single-member districts which shall corre- 

spond with the five districts used for election of the Lawrence 

County Commission. 

2. The incumbent members of the Lawrence County Board of 

Education shall serve until their successors are elected and take 

office in November, 1988. Five members, elected from single-member 

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districts shall be elected in the 1988 primary and general 

elections. 

3. The member of the Lawrence County Board of Education 

elected in 1988 from district three shall serve an initial two-year 

term until a successor is elected in 1990 and thereafter serve 

six-year terms. The members of the Lawrence County Board of 

Education elected in 1988 from districts one and four shall serve 

initial four-year terms until successors are elected in 1992 and 

thereafter serve six-year terms. The members of the Lawrence 

County Board of Education elected in 1988 from districts two and 

five shall serve six-year terms. 

4. On a temporary basis the Lawrence County Board of Educa- 

tion shall be expanded to six members. The named plaintiffs, in 

their capacity as representatives of the plaintiff class of all 

black citizens in Lawrence County, after approval of this consent 

by the court, shall promptly submit a list of not less than three 

qualified persons to the Lawrence County Board of Education which 

shall select from that list one person who shall be sworn in as a 

member of the Lawrence County Board of Education. This new member 

shall serve as an at-large member like all the other board members 

only until successors are elected and take office in 1988. This 

member shall have all of the rights, powers and duties as the other 

members of the Lawrence County Board of Education. The votes of 

the six-member board shall be recorded in the same manner as they 

have or would have heretofore been recorded. 

5. Lawrence County Board of Education shall promptly submit 

for preclearance under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act this  



  

consent decree. The court will defer a final consideration of the 

settlement until preclearance is obtained. If preclearance is 

denied, the court shall give the plaintiffs and the defendant a 

reasonable opportunity to cure the objections and to obtain 

preclearance of another agreed upon plan. However, should 

preclearance not be obtained in a timely manner, the court shall 

enter its own plan. 

6. If and when an agreed upon plan is precleared under 

Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, the court will consider whether 

it should be finally approved under the terms of this consent 

decree and as complying with the Voting Rights Act. 

7. Following final approval of a plan by this court, the 

Lawrence County Board of Education shall request the Legislature of 

Alabama, through the Lawrence County local delegation, to enact the 

finally approved single-member district plan as state law. The 

finally approved court-ordered plan shall remain in effect only 

until the Legislature of Alabama or other authority acting under 

state law adopts a plan which meets the requirements of the law and 

Constitution of the United States. 

8. The plaintiffs are prevailing parties for the purpose of 

the award of attorneys' fees and expenses. Following final ap- 

proval by the court of a single-member district plan, the parties 

shall negotiate and attempt to settle the amount of attorneys' fees 

and expenses, but if no agreement can be reached after forty-five 

days from the date of final approval of the plan, the plaintiffs 

may file a motion for attorneys' fees and expenses with supporting 

documentation. Defendants shall file a response to said motion, 

 



  

identifying those portions of the fees to which they object and 

those portions they admit. The parties may conduct such discovery 

as may be needed. Thereafter, the court will schedule a hearing on 

the motion at the earliest practicable date. 

DONE this day of r. 198 
  

  

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 

AGREED TO: 

BLACKSHER, MENEFEE & STEIN 

Fifth Floor Title Building 
300 Twenty-First Street North 
Birmingham, Alabama 35203 
(205) 322-7300 

  

TERRY G. DAVIS 

SEAY & DAVIS 

732 Carter Hill Road 
P.O. Box 6125 
Montgomery, Alabama 36106 

(205) 834-2000 

DEBORAH FINS 
JULIUS L. CHAMBERS 

NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE FUND 

99 Hudson Street, 16th Floor 

New York, New York 10013 

(212) 219-1900 

EDWARD STILL 

REEVES & STILL 

714 South 29th Street 
Birmingham, Alabama 35233-2810 

 



  

REO KIRKLAND, JR. 

307 Evergreen Avenue 
P.O. Box 646 

Brewton, Alabama 36427 
(205) 867-5711 

Attorneyg for Plaintiffs 

    

  

abama 35650 

  

JAMES 6. SPEAKE 

Attorneys for Lawrence County 
Board of Education 

 



IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA 

NORTHERN DIVISION 
  

JOHN DILLARD, ET AL., 

Plaintiffs, 

VS. CIVIL ACTION NO. CV 85-T-1332-N 

CRENSHAW COUNTY, ALABAMA 
BT AL., 

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ORDER TENTATIVELY APPROVING COMPROMISE 

AND REQUIRING NOTICE TO THE CLASS 
  

At a conference in chambers on ; 
  

1986, counsel for all of the parties informed the court that they 

had reached a final compromise and settlement of this action and 

sought this court's tentative approval of its terms. 

By joint motion, plaintiffs and the Lawrence County Board of 

Education ask that the Lawrence County Board of Education be added 

as a PAYLY defendant. Upon the representation of the parties, the 

court finds that the Lawrence County Board of Education is elected 

by an at-large election system that is in relevant respects the 

same as the system by which members of the Lawrence County Commis- 

sion are elected and that the election system for the Board of 

Education is subject to similar claims made by plaintiffs in this 

action that it violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. 

Counsel has appeared on behalf of the Lawrence County Board of 

Education and has agreed by his appearance to accept all necessary 

service of process to enable the Lawrence County Board of Education  



  

to be made a party defendant. Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED 

that the Lawrence County Board of Education be joined as a defen- 

dant. 

Under the terms of the proposed settlement, the parties have 

agreed to the entry of an injunction requiring that elections for 

the Lawrence County Board of Education be conducted from 

single-member districts, while allowing the incumbents to serve 

until 1988. 

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 objections by members of the 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 Lawrence County, Alabama. 

Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that the defendant Lawrence 

County Board of Education cause the notice attached to this order 

to be published in The Moulton Advertiser once a week for three 
  

successive weeks prior to y- 198° ~.- Maps. of ‘the 
  

districts shall be displayed in the central administrative office 

of the Lawrence County Board of Education during normal business 

hours. 

It is further ORDERED that copies of the attached notice be 

provided by the defendant Lawrence County Board of Education to 

representatives of all local radio and television stations and to 

 



all representatives of media and black community organizations in 

Lawrence County who may request a copy thereof. 

Thereafter on o'clock 
  

  

.m., this court shall conduct a hearing in the federal courthouse 

in Montgomery, Alabama, to consider objections by members of the 

class to the proposed compromise and settlement. 

DONE this day of yi 198 7, 
  

  

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE