Haining v. Roberts

320 F. Supp. 1054, 1970 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8999
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Mississippi
DecidedDecember 29, 1970
DocketCiv. A. 4594
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 320 F. Supp. 1054 (Haining v. Roberts) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Haining v. Roberts, 320 F. Supp. 1054, 1970 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8999 (S.D. Miss. 1970).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

NIXON, District Judge:

In his Verified Complaint filed herein, plaintiff, an adult resident citizen of Jackson, Mississippi, brought this action individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, against the defendants, M. M. Roberts, President of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning of the State of Mississippi, Robert E. Carter, Director of the University of Mississippi Medical Center and Dean of the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, and Pat L. Gilliland, Personnel Director of the University of Mississippi Medical Center, requesting a judgment declaring unconstitutional the Mississippi Subversive Activities Act, 1 which requires the execution of an oath by applicants for state employment as a prerequisite thereto. The plaintiff also prays for a permanent injunction against the enforcement of these statutes by the defendants, in addition to back pay allegedly due him for work performed prior to his discharge for failure to execute the above oath, and all necessary costs and expenses of this action, including a reasonable attorney’s fee.

The plaintiff originally requested this Three Judge Court, which was properly convened with jurisdiction over the subject matter herein, 2 inasmuch as he seeks to have declared unconstitutional the Mississippi Subversive Activities Act, a state law of general application which requires that a loyalty questionnaire be signed under oath by everyone as a prerequisite to employment by the State of Mississippi. It is plaintiff’s contention that this Act is unconstitutional because it abridges his freedom of speech contrary to the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the Con *1056 stitution of the United States, and because the oath requirement and the statutory provisions on which it is based are invalid on their face inasmuch as their language is unduly vague, uncertain and broad, thus violating the due process requirement of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Subsequent to the filing of his complaint requesting the convening of this Court, plaintiff filed a written motion requesting the transfer of this case to a single District Judge, alleging the lack of a substantial constitutional question because the substantive provisions of the statutes in question sub judice are identical to those of the State of Washington which were declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court in the case of Baggett v. Bullitt, 377 U.S. 360, 84 S.Ct. 1316, 12 L.Ed.2d 377 (1964). 3 It is the opinion of this Court, convened pursuant to the request of the plaintiff, that it has jurisdiction of this case, and accordingly, the plaintiff’s “Transfer Motion” is overruled.

After a full hearing before the managing Judge of this case, the plaintiff’s Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order was overruled. 4

The oath requirements of the 1950 Act, Mississippi Laws, 1950, c. 451, applicable to all state employees, including teachers and other employees of all public educational institutions within the state, incorporate various provisions of the Act, which provides generally that “no subversive person, as defined in this act, shall be eligible for employment in, or appointment to any office, or any position of trust or profit in the government of, or in the administration of the business of this state, or of any county, municipality, or other political subdivision of this state.” Mississippi Code of 1942, Rec., § 4064-02. The term “subversive person” is defined as follows:

" 'Subversive person’ means any person who commits, attempts to commit, or aids in the commission, or advocates, abets, advises or teaches by any means any person to commit, attempt to commit, or aid in the commission of any act intended to overthrow, destroy or alter, or to assist in the overthrow, destruction or alteration of, the constitutional form of the government of the United States, or of the State of Mississippi, or any political subdivision of either of them, by revolution, force, violence, or other means not provided for or sanctioned by the Constitution of the State of Mississippi or the Constitution of the United States; or who is a member of a subversive organization or a foreign subversive organization.” Mississippi Code of 1942, Rec., § 4064-01.

The Act also defines “organization”, “subversive organization”, “foreign subversive organization” and “foreign government”. 5

*1057 The following written Stipulation of Facts has been filed herein by the parties:

Comes now the plaintiff and the defendants and present to the Court the following stipulations:

1. Plaintiff is an adult citizen of the United States and a resident citizen of the City of Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi. Defendant M. M. Roberts is President of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning of the State of Mississippi and is an adult resident citizen of the City of Hattiesburg, Forrest County, Mississippi. Defendant Robert E. Carter is Director of the University of Mississippi Medical Center and Dean of the University of Mississippi School of Medicine and is an adult resident citizen of the City of Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi. Defendant Pat L. Gilliland is Personnel Director of the University of Mississippi Medical Center and is an adult resident citizen of the City of Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi.

2. All defendants, at all times stipulated herein, were acting under color of law of the State of Mississippi.

3. Plaintiff was employed by the University of Mississippi Medical Center from January 14, 1969, to March 7, 1969, as an oxygen technician. At the time of his employment, plaintiff completed all required forms including the loyalty questionnaire. During these fifty-three days plaintiff was absent from work six days. He resigned on March 7, 1969, after giving proper notice.

4. Plaintiff was rehired at the Medical Center on August 25, 1969, as an oxygen technician, after completing all required forms for employment including the loyalty questionnaire. He worked satisfactorily in this position until September 19, 1969, when he did not report for work. Plaintiff was terminated from this employment on October 1, 1969.

5. After plaintiff consulted with Dr. T. Walter Treadwell, Jr., Director of Inhalation Therapy Service at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, plaintiff was rehired on December 2, 1969, as oxygen technician and began work on that day in that capacity. On December 6, 1969, plaintiff was accepted on probation as an inhalation therapy technician trainee and continued working in this capacity until December 19, 1969. If plaintiff had signed all the papers required for employment his net earnings for the time he worked at the Medical Center between December 2, 1969, and December 19, 1969, would have been $209.12.

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Related

Brewer v. School Board of Norfolk
456 F.2d 943 (Fourth Circuit, 1972)
Walton Dacus Haining v. M. M. Roberts
453 F.2d 1223 (Fifth Circuit, 1971)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
320 F. Supp. 1054, 1970 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8999, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/haining-v-roberts-mssd-1970.