Rollins v. Shannon

• Decision Date: 26 September 1968
• Docket Number: No. 67 C 358(2).,67 C 358(2).
• Citation: 292 F. Supp. 580
• Parties: James ROLLINS, Henry Thomas, Jose Renteria, Walter Quarles, Fred Krump, James Smith, Solomon Rooks, Chairman of the St. Louis Committee of Racial Equality and St. Louis Committee of Racial Equality, Plaintiffs, v. Thomas W. SHANNON, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Missouri

292 F. Supp. 580

James ROLLINS, Henry Thomas, Jose Renteria, Walter Quarles, Fred Krump, James Smith, Solomon Rooks, Chairman of the St. Louis Committee of Racial Equality and St. Louis Committee of Racial Equality, Plaintiffs, v. Thomas W. SHANNON, Defendant.

No. 67 C 358(2).

United States District Court E. D. Missouri, E. D.

September 26, 1968.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Charles Oldham, Bruce Nangle, Louis Gilden, Samuel Liberman, II, St. Louis, Mo., Joseph Cohn, East St. Louis, Ill., for plaintiffs.

Thomas W. Shannon, Pros. Atty., City of St. Louis, St. Louis, Mo., for defendant.

Before MATTHES, Circuit Judge, and HARPER and MEREDITH, District Judges.

PER CURIAM.

The original complaint in this action was filed on October 16, 1967. It alleged certain arrests, threatened and actual prosecutions for the alleged violation of certain ordinances of the City of St. Louis, Missouri, and of section 562.150, R.S.Mo.1959, V.A.M.S., which occurred during and after a "rally" held in the Pruitt-Igoe Housing Project on August 23, 1967. Plaintiffs sought a temporary and permanent injunction to prevent their prosecution under the ordinances and statute in question, and further sought to have this Court declare the same unconstitutional.

The original plaintiffs were: (1) James Rollins, a Negro-American and a member of the St. Louis Committee of Racial Equality (hereinafter referred to as CORE); (2) Henry Thomas, a Negro-American and then Vice-Chairman of CORE; (3) Jose Renteria, a Negro-American and a member of CORE; (4) James Smith, a Negro-American; (5) Walter Quarles, a Negro-American and member of CORE; (6) Fred Krump, a Negro-American and a member of CORE; (7) St. Louis CORE and its chairman, Lucien Richards.

Mr. Rollins was charged with violating section 762.030, Public disturbance of the peace; section 761.020, Damaging certain properties; section 756.020, Contributing to delinquency of a child; and section 763.010, Prohibition (unlawful assembly), (all being alleged violations of the Revised Ordinances of the City of St. Louis). He was further charged under section 562.150, R.S.Mo.1959, Unlawful Assembly. Mr. Thomas was charged with the same violations as was Mr. Rollins. Mr. Renteria was similarly charged. Mr. Smith was not a member of CORE. He was charged as was Mr. Rollins. Mr. Quarles was not charged under section 763.010 of the Revised Ordinance, nor under section 562.150, R.S. Mo.1959. Mr. Krump was charged under all of the noted ordinances, but was not charged under the state statute.

St. Louis CORE has as its stated purpose to help to secure to all Negro-Americans the rights guaranteed to them by our Constitution, to end racial discrimination, to teach all citizens Negro-American heritage, and to inform all citizens of the grievances and complaints which Negro-Americans have against those who discriminate on the basis of race. In the furtherance of these aims, CORE, by its members, utilizes protest activities of various sorts.

Each of the named plaintiffs, excepting only James Smith, in addition to suing in his own behalf also sues in behalf of "all members of St. Louis CORE and all Negro American citizens of the City of St. Louis, Missouri, similarly situated, which classes are too numerous to bring before the Court."

The original defendants were: Alphonse J. Cervantes, Mayor of the City of St. Louis; Curtis Brostron, Chief of Police; Thomas Shannon, Prosecuting Attorney for the City of St. Louis (the City of St. Louis is both a city and a county, therefore, Mr. Shannon is a state official who has the responsibility for prosecuting misdemeanors under the laws of the State of Missouri); Thomas McGuire, City Counselor for the City of St. Louis; and eight named officers of the St. Louis Police Department.

Jurisdiction was invoked under Title 28, U.S.C., sections 1331, 1332, 1343(3) and (4), 2201, 2202, 2281 and 2284; Title 42, U.S.C., sections 1971, 1981, 1983, and 1985; and the Constitution of the United States, the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments thereof.

Plaintiffs' complaint alleged that under the color of state law the defendants have entered into a "plan or scheme of concerted and joint action", the purpose of which is to deprive plaintiffs of their constitutional rights; that under this plan they have attempted to, and threaten to, prosecute plaintiffs under the noted laws; that a double standard of law enforcement and prosecution exists, employed more harshly against Negro-Americans; that plaintiffs were arrested after the rally of August 23, 1967; that those arrests were made for the sole purpose of silencing speech and assembly; and that the laws in question are unconstitutional.

Simultaneously with their complaint, plaintiffs requested a Three-Judge District Court. Since a state statute was challenged, and since the allegations of bad faith were sufficient to raise substantial constitutional questions, the Honorable Charles J. Vogel, Chief Judge for the Eighth Circuit, pursuant to 28 U.S.C., section 2281, designated this Three-Judge Court to hear plaintiffs' suit. See Moody v. Flowers, 387 U.S. 97, 101, 87 S.Ct. 1544, 18 L.Ed. 2d 643 (1967).

On November 13, 1967, all of the city officials answered and moved to dismiss. Defendant Shannon answered separately and moved to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2284 (2), this action was found to involve the enforcement of a state statute, and on December 12, 1967, it was ordered that the required notice be given to the Governor and Attorney General of the State of Missouri. On December 20, 1967, the State of Missouri by its Attorney General entered its appearance. Defendants' motions were overruled by this Court following oral arguments.

On February 20, 1968, plaintiffs requested and were granted leave to file their First Amended Complaint. One Solomon Rooks was substituted for Lucien Richards as Chairman of CORE, and Eugene Freeman was substituted as defendant for Thomas McGuire, who had resigned the position of City Counselor. This amended complaint is, in essence, the same as the original. It alleges the same plan or scheme, etc. It challenges section 562.150, R.S.Mo.1959, as being void on its face and/or as applied on the basis that it violates the First Amendment, that it is void for over-breadth, and that it is void for vagueness. In addition, it alleges that the defendants, pursuant to the plan or scheme alleged, arrested the plaintiffs in the absence of any clear and present danger in order to suppress plaintiffs' right to freedom of speech and peaceable assembly. In addition, plaintiffs expanded their allegations that the prosecutions and threatened prosecutions have a "chilling" effect on the First Amendment rights of those who would seek to express the grievances of the Negro-Americans in St. Louis, by means of the exercise of their First Amendment rights. At the same time, defendant Shannon filed a motion for summary judgment, which motion was overruled on March 5, 1968.

A third pre-trial conference was held on March 7, 1968. Eight days later, plaintiffs dismissed their action without prejudice as to all of the named city officials, leaving only Thomas Shannon as a party-defendant. Such dismissal leaves only section 562.150, R.S.Mo.1959, under attack. The fifth pre-trial conference was held on April 11, 1968. At that time it was agreed and ordered that the cause would be submitted solely on depositions and exhibits. Both parties were requested to file suggested findings of fact and conclusions of law, which they have done.

On May 16, 1968, attorneys for the plaintiffs, pursuant to 42 U.S.C., section 2000a-3(b), filed their motion and affidavit for attorneys' fees. The Court held this motion in abeyance pending its final decision.

On July 11, 1968, defendant Shannon by means of a new motion to dismiss the action, informed the Court that plaintiffs Rollins, Renteria, and Smith had withdrawn their pleas of not guilty to the state charge under section 562.150 and had entered their pleas of guilty as charged. These pleas of guilty occurred on July 10, 1968, after the trial on the charge was into its second day and a jury had been sworn and some evidence adduced. The State of Missouri entered a nolle prosequi as to plaintiff Henry Thomas. Except for Mr. Rollins, all of the plaintiffs who were charged with violations of the various city ordinances have pleaded guilty to the violation of section 762.030, Public disturbance of the peace, and the other charges were dismissed by the City.

Therefore, this Court has before it for decision (1) plaintiffs' motion for attorney fees pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 2000a, and (2) defendant Shannon's motion to dismiss. In the event the latter motion is overruled, this entire cause is ready for decision. For reasons that will be later given, defendant Shannon's motion is sustained in part and overruled in part, and this Court feels that it must reach a decision on the merits of this cause.

Without undertaking to fully summarize the pleadings, plaintiffs' attack here is now directed solely to section 562.150, R.S.Mo.1959. The attack is based upon allegations of a scheme or plan to deprive plaintiffs of their constitutional rights, and discriminatory, bad-faith, enforcement of the law involved; an allegation that said statute violates the First Amendment; and an allegation that said statute is void for vagueness and over-breadth. Defendant Shannon's answer denies the allegations which constitute plaintiffs' cause; asserts that the law is constitutionally valid; and urges this Court to abstain.

Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law

The summer of 1967 was one of this country's truly "long hot summers". Outbreaks of violence and riots occurred in Atlanta, Georgia, in April; on June 11th in Tampa, Florida; on June 12th in Cincinnati, Ohio; on June 17th again in Atlanta, Georgia; on June 20th in Newark, New...