United States v. Clark

249 F. Supp. 720, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6181
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Alabama
DecidedApril 16, 1965
DocketCiv. A. 3438-64
StatusPublished
Cited by41 cases

This text of 249 F. Supp. 720 (United States v. Clark) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Clark, 249 F. Supp. 720, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6181 (S.D. Ala. 1965).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

This action is brought by the United States pursuant to Section 206(a) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (78 Stat. 241) and 42 U.S.C. § 1971, to obtain preventive relief against acts and practices of the defendant City of Selma, Alabama, and the defendant public officials of Dallas County, Alabama. This action, having been commenced under Section 206 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Attorney General of the United States having filed a request therefor, the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals constituted a three-judge court to hear and determine the matter.

The defendant City of Selma is an incorporated municipality and is the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama. The defendant James G. Clark, Jr., is the Sheriff of Dallas County, Alabama, and as such is authorized and charged with the duty of enforcing the law within Dallas County. Blanchard McLeod is the Circuit Solicitor for the Fourth Judicial Circuit, which includes Dallas County; as such, he is authorized and charged with the duty of prosecuting violations of the laws of Alabama occurring in Dallas County. James Hare is the Circuit Judge for the Fourth Judicial Circuit and as such has jurisdiction in Dallas County. Bernard A. Reynolds is the Judge of Probate of Dallas County and as such, among other things, has jurisdiction over juveniles accused of violating the penal laws, and also has jurisdiction in cases where adults are charged with contributing to the delinquency of minors.

The United States contends that the defendants have engaged in acts and practices having the purpose and effect of threatening, intimidating and coercing Negro citizens so as to interfere with the rights of Negroes to register to vote and to use public accommodations on an equal basis with white persons. The United States asks this Court for a declaration and injunction against defendants’ interference with these rights. More specifically, the United States requests this Court to enjoin said defendants from:

(a) Arresting, detaining under unreasonable bail, prosecuting, convicting, punishing, or threatening to arrest, detain, prosecute, convict or punish discriminatorily and without just cause any person who is known by defendants to be exercising, seeking to exercise, or to have exercised his right to vote or to use public accommodations free from racial discrimination;

(b) Requesting, issuing, enforcing, or threatening to enforce any injunction that prevents persons from effectively organizing, meeting or assembling to discuss or advocate the exercise of said rights;

(c) Using unreasonable force or threatening without just cause to use force, in the performance of law enforcement functions, against persons known to the defendants to be exercising, seeking to exercise or to have exercised the aforesaid rights;

(d) Failing to provide ordinary police protection to persons attempting peaceably to exercise said rights;

*723 (e) Intimidating, threatening or coercing, by any of the means described in subparagraphs (a) through (d) or by any other means, any person whatever for the purpose of preventing, interfering with or discouraging Negroes from voting or registering to vote or from using public accommodations without regard to race or color.

The United States also seeks to have set aside all convictions and to have reimbursement made for all fines paid where said convictions and fines were imposed illegally and discriminatorily upon individuals exercising or seeking to exercise their right to register to vote or to use public accommodations free from racial discrimination. It is further requested that this Court enjoin the defendants from enforcing or giving effect to a State court injunction issued by Judge Hare of the Fourth Judicial Circuit of Alabama on July 9,1964.

Each of the defendants (assigning numerous grounds) asks dismissal of the action. By formal order, this Court withheld ruling on these motions until the case could be heard on its merits.

The case was heard, this Court sitting in the Northern Division for the Southern District of Alabama, in December 1964, and the evidence consisting of testimony from over 125 witnesses and of approximately 100 exhibits. The matter is now submitted upon the pleadings, the motions of the defendants, the evidence, and the briefs and arguments of the parties. Upon this submission, this Court now proceeds to make the appropriate findings of fact and conclusions of law, and, as authorized by Rule 52, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, incorporates said findings and conclusions in this memorandum opinion.

Under Alabama law, registration is a prerequisite to voting in any election. In several counties in central Alabama, including Dallas County, fewer than 10% of the Negroes of voting age are registered to vote. 1 In Dallas County, as of November 1964, only 2.2% of the Negroes of voting age were registered. 2 For the purpose of attempting to obtain better political representation for Negro citizens in Dallas County, the Negro community established in May 1963 the Dallas County Voters League. Mass meetings were held weekly, with Dallas County deputy sheriffs, under the direction of Sheriff Clark, attending all such meetings that the sheriff knew about. Very little, if any, progress in the registration of Negroes was made; and in September or October, 1963, after mass arrests of peacefully demonstrating Negroes by the City of Selma officials and the sheriff and his deputies, 3 one or more of the national organizations that have for their avowed purpose the securing of equal rights for Negroes, actively entered upon the Dallas County, and particularly the Selma, Alabama, scene. During the remainder of 1963, there were several mass meetings, demonstrations, and occasional picketing by the Negroes; the attempts to register to vote continued and the arrests by the county authorities continued. During the first six months of 1964, there was little organized Negro activity in Selma and Dallas County other than the weekly mass meetings, which *724 were generally held in the Negro churches. These meetings were covered by both State of Alabama and Dallas County officials. Speeches at these meetings centered on voter registration. An adult literacy project for the Negroes was instituted, “freedom day” programs— where a special effort was made to get unregistered Negroes registered to vote —were organized and conducted. The Dallas County Board of Registrars during this period processed only 20 to 30 applications per day. The Negro community of Dallas County and particularly Selma, Alabama, had accomplished very little by their activities up to the beginning of the summer of 1964.

On July 2,1964, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (P.L. 88-352) became law. Among other things, this law contained specific provisions to secure the rights of Negro citizens in their use of places of public accommodation and in their attempts to register to vote. 4

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Bluebook (online)
249 F. Supp. 720, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6181, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-clark-alsd-1965.