Wilder v. Lambert Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus by a Person in State Custody

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Maggie Bozeman and Julia Wilder: Advocates Jailed for Assisting Elderly Black Voters in Alabama

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Prisonerrs Name: JuIia p. Wilder

Prison Number: 0013071 I
P1ACE Of CONfiNEMCNt: ON PAROLE FROM KILBY CORRECTIONS FACILTTY

rN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRTCT OF ALABAMA

MONTGOMERY DIVISION

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JULrA P. WTLDER, :

Petitioner r z Civil Action No.

- against :

EALON M. LAMBERT, JACK C. LUFKTN AND :
JOHN T. PORTER IN THETR OFFICAL
CAPACITTES AS MEMBERS OF THE ALABAMA 3

BOARD OF PARDONS AND PAROLES, AND
TED BUTLER, A PROBATION AND PAROLE :
OFFTCER, EMPLOYED BY THE ALABAMA
BOARD OF PARDONS AND PAROLES t Z

Respondents. :

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Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus Bv A

Person In State Custodv

TO THE HONORABLE JUDGE OF THE DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
MTDDtE DISTRTCT OF ALABAMA, MONTGOMERY DMSION:

1. The name and location of the court which entered

the judgment of conviction and sentence under attack are!

(a) The Circuit Court of Pickens County, Alabama.

(b) Carrollton, Pickens County, Alabama.

2. The date of the judgment of conviction and sentence

is May 31, 1979.

3. The sentence is that Ju1ia P. Wilder be imprisoned

in the peni.t,entiary of the State of Alabama for a period

of five years. She is currently on parole in the custody

of respondent members of the State Board of Pardons and Parole.

4. The nature of the offense involved is that p.etitioner

was charged in a three count indictment with violating Ala.

Code S 17-23-1 (1975) in that she allegedly voted illegaI1y
in the Democratic Primary Run-Off Election of September 26, 1978

(hereinafter run-off ) .

5. Petitioner's plea was not guilty.

5. Trial was had before a jury.

7. Petitioner testified at tria1.
8. Petitioner appealed her conviction.

9. The facts of petitioner's appeal are as follows:
(a) The judgment of conviction was appealed to the

Court of Criminal Appeals of A1abama. That court affirmed the

conuiction on March 31, 198.l. 401 So.2d 151.



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(b) The Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama denied a

motion for rehearing of the appeal on Aprit 2L, 1981. Id.
(c) The Supreme Court of Alabama denied a petition

for writ of certiorari to the Court of Criminal Appeals on July

24, 1981. 401 So.2d 167 .

(d ) The Supreme Court of the United States denied a

petition for writ of certiorari to the Court of Criminal Appeals

on November 16, 1981. 454 U.S. 1057.

10. Other than the appeals described in paragraphs 8 and

9 above, the other petitions, applications, motions, or proceed-

ings filed or maintained by petitioner with respect to the

judgment of November 2, 1979 of the Circuit Court of Pickens County

are described in paragraph 11 below.

11. A motion for a new trial was made to the Circuit
Court of Pickens County. The motion was denied on September 27,

L979.

L2. Petitioner !{as convicted in violation of her rights
guaranteed by the First, Fifth, Sixth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth
Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, and by the

Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. S 1971 et seq., for each of the

reasons stated below.

I. fntroductorv Facts

13. Petitioner Ju1ia P. Wilder was convicted of

i1Iegal voting because of her alleged participation in an

effort to assist elderly and illiterate black voters to cast

absentee ballots in the run-off.

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14. On October I0, 1978r two weeks after the run-off

election, the Sheriff of Pickens County, Mr. Louie Coleman,

along with the District Attorney of the County, Mr. P.M.

Johnstonr dn investigator named Mr. Charlie Tate, and Mr.

Johnstonrs secretary, Ms. Kitty Cooper, opened the county

absentee ballot box, and began searching for ballots which

could be connected to petitioner and to the general effort to

aid elderly blacks in Pickens County to vote by absentee

balIot. Tr. 69-70*/ They isolated thirty-nine absentee ballots
out of the many cast. These ballots were isolated by the

following method. Mr. Tate was able to get the names of certain
of the voters whose application for an absentee baIlot petitioner
had turned.in. Tr. 70-71, 74-76i see also Tr. 45-46. Since at

that time Alabama law required that the absentee ballot contain

the name of the voter, AIa. Code SS17-10-6, 17-10-7 (1975),

amended Acts 1980, No.80-732, p. 1478, SS3, 4, Mr. Tate was

thus able to identify the ballots of these voters; and when it
was noticed that each of these ballots had been notarized by

Mr. Paul Rollins, a black notary public from outside of

Pickens County, all of the absentee ballots notarized by Mr.

Rollins, amounting to a total of 39, were isolated. Tr. 58,

75-76.

15. Each of the 39 absentee ballots !{as represented

to be the vote of a different black, elderly, and infirmed

resident of Pickens County. The state claimed that Ms. Wilder,

who is 70 years old, participated in the casting of these

ballots in violation of AIa. Code S 17-23-1 (1975).

!/ A11 transcript citations refer to the transcript of peti-
tioner's trial.

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