Bradford v. School District No. 20, Charleston

244 F. Supp. 768, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7340
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. South Carolina
DecidedAugust 19, 1965
DocketCiv. A. No. 8564
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 244 F. Supp. 768 (Bradford v. School District No. 20, Charleston) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. South Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bradford v. School District No. 20, Charleston, 244 F. Supp. 768, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7340 (southcarolinaed 1965).

Opinion

SIMONS, District Judge.

This matter is before the court upon defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint herein pursuant to Rule 12 [b] [6] of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure on grounds that plaintiff has failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted in that: [a] it appears on the face of the complaint that the plaintiff was suspended or dismissed from his teaching position by reason of misconducts on December 24, 1964, under statutory authority of the School District Trustees, and [b] it does not appear on the face of the complaint that the plain[770]*770tiff has followed the administrative procedure required of him by the statute law of this State. Alternatively the defendants’ move for dismissal on lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter because there is no diversity of citizenship between the parties and because the amount actually in controversy is less than Ten Thousand Dollars [$10,000.00]. This matter has been before me previously on plaintiff’s motion for an ex parte injunction, resulting in order dated January 19, 1965.

Plaintiff seeks to invoke the jurisdiction of the court under the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution and Title 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and § 1343, and Title 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and § 1983.

The complaint alleges that on December 24, 1964, plaintiff, a Negro, entered the R. A. Shuler Barber Shop in Charleston, S. C., and sought to have his hair cut; the manager of the barber shop refused to serve him and requested that a city policeman remove him from the premises; plaintiff was thereafter arrested by the police and charged with being drunk, disorderly and assaulting a policeman. The complaint further states that on December 30, 1964, plaintiff was tried and convicted of the above charges in the Municipal Court of the City of Charleston, and the convictions were promptly appealed to the Court of General Sessions for Charleston County; that on December 31, 1964, he was notified by letter that effective that date he was suspended from his position as a school teacher at Burke High School in School District No. 20 without pay until further notice.1

Plaintiff further alleges in his complaint that he believes his suspension was a result of his alleged unlawful conduct on December 24, 1964; that his dismissal from his teaching position was merely retaliatory action by defendants against plaintiff for his lawful protest against the owners and employees of the Shuler barber shop and the governmental authorities of the City of Charleston; that such dismissal was not authorized by any valid rule or regulation concerning his conduct, and came without warning, notice, or opportunity for plaintiff to be heard, and did therefore deprive plaintiff of his constitutional rights of due process, guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The prayer of the complaint asks the court to issue [1] a temporary restraining order; or [2] in the alternative an order to show cause and to advance the cause on the docket and order a speedy hearing; and [3] “upon such hearing to issue preliminary and permanent injunctions forever restraining defendants from interfering with plaintiff’s rights to remain in his employment as * * teacher * * * during the school year of 1964-1965 under the rules and regulations no different from those applied to other teachers similarly situated”; and [4] such other additional relief as may appear to the court to be equitable and fair.2

Plaintiff does not allege in his complaint that defendants, or any one of them, engaged in any kind of conspiracy with the owners or employees of the Shuler Barber Shop, or with any city officials or law enforcement officers, or with any other person, to deprive plaintiff of his constitutional rights. During the hearing on defendants’ motion to dismiss, plaintiff admitted that defendants were in fact never so engaged in any conspiracy to deprive him of his rights. Indeed, he asserts in his complaint that it is his belief “that the action of the defendants in dismissing him from his [771]*771position as a teacher of School District No. 20, Charleston, S. C., was by reason of his alleged misconduct on December 24, 1964. * * * ”3 The other allegations in the complaint that defendants sought to punish plaintiff for his actions in protesting the policies of the owners and employees of the Shuler Barber Shop are not supported by allegations of specific facts, but to the contrary, these allegations are rebutted by plaintiff’s own assertion that he was suspended because of his unlawful acts of being drunk, disorderly, and assaulting a police officer. The record shows that defendants took no action against plaintiff until after he was lawfully tried and convicted in the Charleston Municipal Court of the aforesaid criminal charges. An appeal to the Charleston County Court of General Sessions from this conviction has been made by plaintiff; however, in South Carolina an appeal from a conviction in a criminal case “has no effect whatever upon the judgment which, until reversed, ‘stands unaffected by such appeal, except that it cannot be enforced by execution “until the appeal is finally disposed of.” ’ ” Parker v. State Highway Department, 224 S.C. 263, 78 S.E.2d 382 [1953]; State v. Prater, 27 S.C. 599, 4 S.E. 562 [1887], See also 18 C.J.S. Conviction, page 97.

The facts before the court as set out herein are not in dispute by the parties and clearly show that plaintiff has no cause of action against these defendants under the civil rights statutes for any deprivation of constitutional rights regarding his arrest and conviction arising out of the incident of December 24, 1964.

Plaintiff argues, however, that the action of the school board in suspending him from his position as a teacher in Burke High School without notice and a hearing deprives him of due process guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. He does not contend that the action of the School Board in suspending him without prior notice or a hearing was any different from such actions as the School has taken or would take in suspending or discharging any and all other teachers, both white and colored, who may be determined by the School Board to be unfit to be retained as a teacher in said School District No. 20.

No individual as a matter of right has a constitutional privilege to be in the public employ as a school teacher ; and all teachers in public schools are subject to reasonable rules and regulations by state and local school officials.4

State or local officials cannot, however, deprive a teacher of any constitutional right, by imposing unreasonable or unlawful conditions as a necessary adjunct to employment; nor should such rights be denied because of race or color.

Under the Statute Law of South Carolina, school trustees in general have authority to employ and discharge teachers,5 and School District No. 20 has specifically been granted the power to elect and dismiss teachers 6 subject to the su[772]*772pervision of the County Board of Education.

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Bluebook (online)
244 F. Supp. 768, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7340, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bradford-v-school-district-no-20-charleston-southcarolinaed-1965.