WILLIAMS v. WALLACE
240 F.Supp. 100 (1965)
United States District Court M. D. Alabama, N. D.
March 17, 1965.
Ordered, adjudged and decreed that, pending further order of this Court, George C. Wallace, as Governor of the State of Alabama, Albert J. Lingo, as Director of Public Safety for the State of Alabama, and James G. Clark, Jr., as Sheriff of Dallas County, Alabama, their successors in office, agents, representatives, employees, and other persons in active concert and participation with them be and each is hereby restrained and enjoined from:
(1) Arresting, harassing, threatening, or in any way interfering with the efforts to march or walk, or the marching or walking, by the plaintiffs, members of their class, and others who may join with them, along U. S. Highway 80 from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery, Alabama, said march, as presently approved by this Court, to commence in Selma, Alabama, not earlier than Friday, March 19, 1965, and not later than Monday, March 22, 1965, and to terminate in Montgomery, Alabama; and
(2) Otherwise obstructing, impeding, or interfering with the peaceful, nonviolent efforts by said plaintiffs, members of their class, and others who may join with them, in protesting and demonstrating by assembling and by marching along U.S. Highway 80 from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery, Alabama, as said march is proposed in plaintiffs' plan filed with this Court and served on the defendants on March 16, 1965, and to the extent that said plan is presently approved by this Court.
It is further ordered, adjudged and decreed that, pending further order of this Court, the defendants George C. Wallace, as Governor of the State of Alabama, Albert J. Lingo, as Director of Public Safety for the State of Alabama, and James G. Clark, Jr., as Sheriff of Dallas County, Alabama, their successors in office, agents, representatives, employees, and all others acting in concert with them, be and each is hereby restrained and enjoined from failing to provide police protection for the plaintiffs, members of their class, and others who may join with them, in their march, as presently scheduled and presently approved by this Court, to commence not earlier than Friday, March 19, 1965, and not later than Monday, March 22, 1965, along U. S. Highway 80 from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery, Alabama.
It is further ordered, adjudged and decreed that the motion for preliminary injunction filed by the defendant Governor Wallace, the motion by the plaintiff-intervenor, United States of America, for relief in addition to that herein specifically granted, and the motion of the plaintiffs for relief in addition to that herein specifically granted be and each is hereby denied.
It is further ordered that jurisdiction of all matters herein involved be and the same is hereby specifically retained.
ORDER
1. This temporary restraining order, being designed only to protect this Court's jurisdiction, pending a hearing and adjudication of the rights of the parties, has served its purpose with the filing of this order, and, therefore, expires.
2. See Appendix "A" for registration statistics compiled for Dallas, Perry, Wilcox, Hale, Choctaw and Marengo Counties. As to Lowndes County, the evidence reflects that no Negroes are registered to vote although the Negro population in Lowndes County is considerably in excess of 50% of the total population of that county.
3. United States v. Penton (for Montgomery County), D.C., 212 F.Supp. 193 (1962); United States v. State of Alabama (for Macon County), 171 F.Supp. 720 (1959), 267 F.2d 808, vacated and remanded 362 U.S. 602, 80 S.Ct. 924, 4 L. Ed.2d 982; United States v. State of Alabama (for Bullock County), Civil Action No. 1677-N, Sept. 3, 1961; United States v. Cartwright (for Elmore County), 230 F.Supp. 873 (1964). 5. Code of Alabama, Title 36, § 58(19) (b): "Where sidewalks are not provided any pedestrian walking along and upon a highway shall when practicable walk only on the left side of the roadway or its shoulder facing traffic which may approach from the opposite direction."
6. Examples as to the systematic and very effective deprivations of voting rights to Negro citizens in this area are demonstrated by Appendix "A" to this opinion. As to the methods used to accomplish this, see this Court's findings in United States v. State of Alabama, 171 F.Supp. 720, and United States v. Penton, 212 F.Supp. 193. The Courts have recognized that in the field of racial discrimination statistics such as those set out in Appendix "A" tell the basic story. United States v. State of Mississippi, D.C., 229 F.Supp. 925; State of Alabama v. United States (5th Cir. 1962), 304 F.2d 583, aff'd 371 U.S. 37, 83 S.Ct. 145, 9 L.Ed.2d 112; United States v. Edwards (5th Cir. 1964), 333 F.2d 575. 7. Mr. Chief Justice Stone in Opp Cotton Mills, Inc. v. Adm'r of Wage and Hour Div. (1941), 312 U.S. 126, 61 S.Ct. 524, 85 L.Ed. 624, quoting Mr. Chief Justice Marshall in McCulloch v. State of Maryland (1819), 4 Wheat. 316, 4 L.Ed. 579. * Figures not obtained: the Board accepted applications on one day in October 1964.
* A total of 11 rejected applications filed with the Board are by persons believed to
be white, 9 of them were rejected because the applicant did not possess the residency
requirements to register to vote or they were not of proper age to register. One applicant
was rejected for inability to complete the application and one form was marked
"disqualified due to inability to complete application," but the applicant was registered
to vote on the basis of this application.
1. Rejected figures are for applications filed after February 11, 1964.
2. In addition two forms filed by white persons and rejected by the Board are undated;
and one form filed in February 1964 and one in March 1964 do not indicate race.