Case 3:17-cv-00347-WHB-LRA Document 226 Filed 03/14/18 Page 1 of 13

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI
NORTHERN DIVISION

LATOYA BROWN; LAWRENCE BLACKMON;

HERBERT ANTHONY GREEN; KHADAFY
MANNING; QUINNETTA MANNING; MARVIN
MCFIELD; NICHOLAS SINGLETON; STEVEN
SMITH; BESSIE THOMAS; and BETTY JEAN
WILLIAMS TUCKER, individually and on behalf of a Civil Action No.
class of all others similarly situated, 3:17-cv-00347-WHB-LRA

Plaintiffs,
ORAL ARGUMENT
v. REQUESTED

MADISON COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI; SHERIFF

RANDALL S. TUCKER, in his official capacity; and
MADISON COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPUTIES JOHN
DOES #1 through #6, in their individual capacities,

Defendants.

PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION

Plaintiffs Latoya Brown, Lawrence Blackmon, Khadafy Manning, Quinnetta Manning,

Nicholas Singleton, Steven Smith, Bessie Thomas and Betty Jean Williams Tucker (“Plaintiffs”)

ask the Court, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, to certify that they are proper

representatives of the class and subclasses of all persons similarly situated, and permit this

litigation to proceed as a class action pursuant to Rule 23(b)(2), and to appoint the undersigned

counsel as counsel for the class, pursuant to Rule 23(g). 1 Pursuant to L.U. Civ. R. 7(b)(6)(A),

1
Plaintiffs do not seek certification of Herbert Anthony Green or Marvin McField as class
representatives. Motions to dismiss the claims of Mr. Green and Mr. McField for lack of prosecution are
pending; Plaintiffs do not oppose dismissal of Mr. Green’s and Mr. McField’s claims, but contend that
dismissal should be without prejudice. See ECF Nos. 180-183 (Defendants’ Motions to Dismiss claims of
Marvin McField and Herbert Anthony Green), 203-206 (Plaintiffs’ Responses); 207-208 (Defendants’
Rebuttals).
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Plaintiffs respectfully request oral argument on this Motion.

Plaintiffs are Black persons who have suffered, and remain at risk of suffering,

deprivations of their civil rights protected by the United States Constitution 2 as a result of the

policies, and/or longstanding customs and practices of the defendants, Madison County,

Mississippi and Sheriff Randall Tucker, sued herein in his official capacity (“Defendants”).

As set forth in Plaintiffs’ Memorandum of Law in Support of this Motion, Plaintiffs have

developed substantial evidence of Defendants’ policy of stopping and searching Madison

County’s Black citizens on the basis of their race, in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of

the Fourteenth Amendment (the “Policing Program”). The Policing Program is executed by the

Madison County Sheriff’s Department (“MCSD”) at the direction of Sheriff Tucker.

One of the key components of the Policing Program is the disproportionate placement of

roadblocks in predominantly Black neighborhoods (the “Roadblock Program”). Such roadblocks

are established to further a primary purpose of general crime control in these communities. The

Roadblock Program thus runs afoul of both the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. Another

essential component of the Policing Program is Defendants’ policy of suspicionless stops and

searches in majority-Black neighborhoods, particularly in the vicinity of the majority-Black

apartment complexes located in and around the city of Canton (the “Pedestrian Stop Program”).

MCSD deputies routinely stop Black individuals and ask to see their identification when they are

on their way to work, returning to their homes, or walking with friends. The Pedestrian Stop

Program also violates both the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments.

2
In addition to their constitutional claims brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, Plaintiffs also assert a
claim under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d. Conduct that violates the Equal
Protection Clause also violates Title VI. See Gratz v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 244, 276 n.23 (2003)
(“[D]iscrimination that violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment committed by
an institution that accepts federal funds also constitutes a violation of Title VI.”).

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Pursuant to Rule 23(b)(2), the Named Plaintiffs seek to represent a class of all Black

persons who presently or in the future will reside in or travel through Madison County (the

“Targeting Class”) in order to obtain injunctive and declaratory relief to remedy the

constitutional violations caused by the Policing Program. Plaintiffs also seek to represent two

subclasses in order to obtain declaratory and injunctive relief to remedy the constitutional

violations caused by the Roadblock Program and the Pedestrian Stop Program.

The first subclass consists of all Black persons who travel or will travel by car through

majority-Black areas of Madison County. These persons have been or are likely to be stopped at

roadblocks established by the MCSD based on racially discriminatory criteria and/or for

purposes of general crime control (the “Roadblock Subclass”). Named Plaintiffs Lawrence

Blackmon, Latoya Brown, Nicholas Singleton, Bessie Thomas, and Betty Jean Williams Tucker

seek certification as representatives of the Roadblock Subclass.

The second subclass consists of all Black persons who travel or will travel by foot in

Madison County’s majority-Black neighborhoods. These persons have been or are likely to be

subject to searches and/or seizures by the MCSD without reasonable suspicion or probable cause,

and/or on the basis of their race (the “Pedestrian Stop Subclass”). Named Plaintiffs Latoya

Brown, Khadafy Manning, and Steven Smith seek certification as representatives of the

Pedestrian Stop Subclass.

As further described in their Memorandum of Law in Support, Plaintiffs meet all

requirements for certifications pursuant to Rule 23. The class and the subclasses are “so

numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a)(1). There are

questions of law and fact common to the class and to the two subclasses, thus satisfying the

commonality requirement of Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a)(2). These central common questions include

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whether (i) the MCSD has a policy of targeting Black communities and racially profiling Black

individuals, and whether this policy violates the Equal Protection Clause; (ii) whether the MCSD

has a policy, custom, or consistent practice of conducting roadblocks in majority-Black areas of

Madison County for purposes of crime control, and whether the roadblocks carried out pursuant

to this policy are consistent with the requirements of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments;

and (iii) whether the MCSD has a policy, custom, or consistent practice of engaging in searches

and seizures of Black persons in Madison County in the absence of individualized reasonable

suspicion, and if so, whether the searches and seizures carried out pursuant to this policy are

consistent with the requirements of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments.

In addition, the claims of the class representatives are “typical of the claims or defenses

of the class.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a)(3). So, too, are the claims of the class representatives who

represent each of the two subclasses. The named representatives also will fairly and adequately

represent the interests of the class and the subclasses. Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a)(4). Finally, class

certification should be authorized here because “the party opposing the class has acted or refused

to act on grounds that apply generally to the class, so that final injunctive relief or corresponding

declaratory relief is appropriate respecting the class as a whole.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(b)(2).

Plaintiffs’ counsel can and will “fairly and adequately represent the interests of the class,” Fed.

R. Civ. P. 23(g)(1)(B), and should be appointed class counsel, based on the factors enumerated in

Rule 23(g)(1)(A).

For the foregoing reasons, as described in greater detail in Plaintiffs’ Memorandum of

Law in Support of this Motion, Plaintiffs therefore request that the Court:

(a) Determine that Plaintiffs’ proposed class and subclasses meet the requirements of

Rule 23(a) and Rule 23(b)(2);

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(b) Certify the designated class and subclasses; and

(c) Pursuant to Rule 23(g), appoint current counsel for Plaintiffs as counsel for the

class and subclasses.

In support of this Motion, Plaintiffs submit the exhibits listed below and an

accompanying Memorandum of Law in support.

1. Exhibit 1: Report of Bryan Ricchetti, Ph.D. (March 13, 2018)

2. Exhibit 2: Summary Declaration of Rahul Guha, Ph.D., Submitted Pursuant

to Federal Rule of Evidence 1006 (March 13, 2018)

3. Exhibit 3: Excerpts from Transcript of Deposition of Lawrence Blackmon

(filed publicly in redacted form)

4. Exhibit 4: Excerpts from Transcript of Deposition of Latoya Brown

5. Exhibit 5: Excerpts from Transcript of Deposition of Khadafy Manning

6. Exhibit 6: Excerpts from Transcript of Deposition of Quinnetta Manning

7. Exhibit 7: Excerpts from Transcript of Deposition of Nicholas Singleton

8. Exhibit 8: Excerpts from Transcript of Deposition of Steven Smith

9. Exhibit 9: Excerpts from Transcript of Deposition of Bessie Thomas

10. Exhibit 10: Excerpts from Transcript of Deposition of Betty Jean Williams
Tucker (filed publicly in redacted form)

11. Exhibit 11: Excerpts from Transcript of Deposition of Josh Fish

12. Exhibit 12: Excerpts from Transcript of Deposition of Elton Flax

13. Exhibit 13: Excerpts from Transcript of Deposition of Paul Griffin

14. Exhibit 14: Excerpts from Transcript of Deposition of James Hall

15. Exhibit 15: Excerpts from Transcript of Deposition of Samuel Howard

16. Exhibit 16: Excerpts from Transcript of Deposition of Tommy Jones

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17. Exhibit 17: Excerpts from Transcript of Deposition of Slade Moore

18. Exhibit 18: Excerpts from Transcript of Deposition of Mark Sandridge

19. Exhibit 19: Excerpts from Transcript of Deposition of Tommy Squires

20. Exhibit 20: Excerpts from Transcript of Deposition of Darian Smith

21. Exhibit 21: Excerpts from Transcript of Deposition of Bradley Sullivan

22. Exhibit 22: Excerpts from Transcript of Deposition of Rylon Thompson

23. Exhibit 23: Excerpts from Transcript of Deposition of Toby Trowbridge

24. Exhibit 24: Excerpts from Transcript of Deposition of Randal Tucker

25. Exhibit 25: Excerpts from Transcript of Deposition of Jeffrey Waldrop

26. Exhibit 26: Excerpts from Transcript of Deposition of William Weisenberger

27. Exhibit 27: Excerpts from Transcript of Deposition of Jeremy Williams

28. Exhibit 28: Excerpts from Transcript of Deposition of Todd Wilson

29. Exhibit 29: Declaration of Lawrence Blackmon (Mar. 6, 2018)

30. Exhibit 30: Declaration of Latoya Brown (Mar. 5, 2018)

31. Exhibit 31: Declaration of Khadafy Manning (Mar. 3, 2018)

32. Exhibit 32: Declaration of Quinnetta Manning (Mar. 3, 2018)

33. Exhibit 33: Declaration of Nicholas Singleton (Mar. 3, 2018)

34. Exhibit 34: Declaration of Steven Smith (Mar. 6, 2018)

35. Exhibit 35: Declaration of Bessie Thomas (Mar. 3, 2018)

36. Exhibit 36: Declaration of Betty Jean Williams Tucker (Mar. 5, 2018)

37. Exhibit 37: Declaration of James Bacon (Oct. 24, 2017)

38. Exhibit 38: Declaration of Michael Bracey (Oct. 21, 2017)

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39. Exhibit 39: Declaration of Anthony Brown (Oct. 21, 2017)

40. Exhibit 40: Declaration of Bysheba Brown (Oct. 25, 2017)

41. Exhibit 41: Declaration of Willie Carter (Oct. 24, 2017)

42. Exhibit 42: Declaration of Rasheid Davis (Oct. 24, 2017)

43. Exhibit 43: Declaration of Veronica Davis (Oct. 22, 2017)

44. Exhibit 44: Declaration of Demario Day (Feb. 6, 2018)

45. Exhibit 45: Declaration of Domunique Doss (Oct. 25, 2017)

46. Exhibit 46: Declaration of Undrea Guise (Oct. 22, 2017)

47. Exhibit 47: Declaration of Kenneth Harris (Oct. 24, 2017)

48. Exhibit 48: Declaration of Lester Hollins (Oct. 21, 2017)

49. Exhibit 49: Declaration of Antonio Howard (Oct. 25, 2017)

50. Exhibit 50: Declaration of Destiny Jones (Feb. 7, 2018)

51. Exhibit 51: Declaration of Lisa Lewis Jones (Feb. 9, 2018)

52. Exhibit 52: Declaration of Archie McKay (Feb. 4, 2018)

53. Exhibit 53: Declaration of Antonio Mitchell (Feb. 5, 2018)

54. Exhibit 54: Declaration of Ernest Pate, Jr. (Feb. 5, 2018)

55. Exhibit 55: Declaration of Delores Smith (Feb. 4, 2018)

56. Exhibit 56: Declaration of Quincy Smith (Feb. 7, 2018)

57. Exhibit 57: Declaration of John Spann (Oct. 22, 2017)

58. Exhibit 58: Declaration of Terrance Thompson (Feb. 5, 2018)

59. Exhibit 59: Declaration of Montreal Tillman (Feb. 5, 2018)

60. Exhibit 60: Declaration of Earline Wilder (Oct. 22, 2017)

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61. Exhibit 61: Declaration of Michelle Williams (Feb. 12, 2018)

62. Exhibit 62: Madison County Census Data (2010-2016)

• 62.1: QuickFacts, Madison County, Mississippi
• 62.2: Comparative Demographic Estimates for Canton,
Mississippi, Madison, Mississippi, and Ridgeland, Mississippi
• 62.3: Demographic Estimates for Kearney Park, Mississippi
• 62.4: Demographic Estimates for Flora, Mississippi
• 62.5: QuickFacts, Median Household Income, Madison
County, Mississippi

63. Exhibit 63: Excerpts from Mississippi Census (1990)

64. Exhibit 64: Defendants’ Response to Plaintiffs’ First Set of Requests For
Admission (Oct. 20, 2017)

65. Exhibit 65: MC-INT 1-1, Narrative description of roles and responsibilities
within the MCSD, attached to Defendants’ Response to Plaintiffs’
First Set of Interrogatories (Oct. 20, 2017)

66. Exhibit 66: Defendants’ Response to Plaintiffs’ First Set of Interrogatories

(Oct. 20, 2017)

67. Exhibit 67: MCSD Roster (Jan. 11, 2018)

68. Exhibit 68: MCSD_Emails_Reproduced-01245, Email from Mark Sandridge

to Randall Tucker and Jeremy Williams (Mar. 3, 2015)

69. Exhibit 69: New supervisors take office Friday, MADISON COUNTY
JOURNAL (Jan. 2, 2008)

70. Exhibit 70: Is system fair?, THE CLARION-LEDGER (July 22, 2007)

71. Exhibit 71: Roadblocks questioned in Canton, THE CLARION-LEDGER

(July 18, 2006)

72. Exhibit 72: Elizabeth Crisp, Racial profiling accusations thrown at Madison
sheriff in board meeting, THE CLARION-LEDGER (Nov. 6,
2007)

73. Exhibit 73: Elizabeth Crisp, House panel considers bill to outlaw racial
profiling, THE CLARION-LEDGER (Jan. 14, 2009)

74. Exhibit 74: MCSD_Emails_Reproduced-00281, Email from Randall Tucker

to Brad Harbour, et al. (June 5, 2009)

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75. Exhibit 75: Lacey McLaughlin, Making Amends, JACKSON FREE PRESS
(Aug. 17, 2011)

76. Exhibit 76: Madison County Sheriff’s Deputy Captain Randy Tucker to Run
for Madison County Sheriff, Y’ALL POLITICS (Jan. 19, 2011)

77. Exhibit 77: Memo from Sheriff Tucker to All Deputies/Employees (Jan. 3,
2012)

78. Exhibit 78: 2011 MCSO Roster–1, MCSD Roster (2011)

79. Exhibit 79: MC 0037, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Memo

(May 9, 2013)

80. Exhibit 80: Madison sheriff responds to Jackson councilman’s remarks, THE
CLARION-LEDGER (Jan. 2, 2016), available at
https://www.clarionledger.com/videos/news/local/2016/01/04/
78247954/

81. Exhibit 81: MCSD_Emails_Reproduced-01679, Email chain between Randall

Tucker and Frank Halford (Jan. 18, 2016)

82. Exhibit 82: Memo from Shirlene Anderson, Jackson Chief of Police, to Slade
Moore (June 15, 2006)

83. Exhibit 83: Complaint, Moore v. City of Jackson, No. 251-10-592CIV (Hinds
Cnty. Circuit Ct., Aug. 16, 2010)

84. Exhibit 84: Plaintiff’s Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support of

Her Response to Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment,
Huggins v. Belk Dep’t Stores, No. 4:07-cv-134 (S.D. Miss. Aug.
3, 2008)

85. Exhibit 85: Modified Second Amended Complaint, Fleming v. Hinds County,
No. 3:16-cv-554 (S.D. Miss. Nov. 30, 2016)

86. Exhibit 86: MC-Emails 213, Email from Joseph Mangino attaching “Case File
Coversheet,” (May 27, 2014)

87. Exhibit 87: MCSD-Officer Documents-01393, Narcotics Until Case File

Cover Sheet

88. Exhibit 88: Letter from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
to City of Ridgeland (Dec. 3, 2015)

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89. Exhibit 89: MC-RFP 2–1, Policy and Procedures, Sobriety Checkpoint
Guidelines (filed publicly in redacted form)

90. Exhibit 90: MC-RFP 10-42(1), Letter from Angela Lyons to Jeremy Williams
(Oct. 31, 2017)

91. Exhibit 91: MC-RFP-Inc. Rep. 010886, Incident Report (May 23, 2013)

92. Exhibit 92: MC B. Davis Laptop 4, Roadblock Notice

93. Exhibit 93: MC T. Chastain Laptop 17, Roadblock Notice

94. Exhibit 94: MC L. Sanders Main Server 93, Memo from Tommy Jones to All
Narcotics Agents (Jan. 30, 2017)

95. Exhibit 95: Excerpt from Plaintiff Steven Smith’s Responses and Objections
to Defendants’ First Set of Interrogatories (Oct. 23, 2017)

96. Exhibit 96: MC-RFP-Inc. Rep. 040697, Incident Report (Apr. 28, 2017); MC-
RFP-Inc. Rep. 058887, Incident Report (Feb. 21, 2015); MC-RFP-
Inc. Rep. 025721, Incident Report (June 5, 2014)

97. Exhibit 97: MC-RFP-Inc. Rep. 047927, Incident Report (Feb. 14, 2017)

98. Exhibit 98: MC-RFP-Inc. Rep. 032317, Incident Report (Nov. 18, 2015); MC-
RFP-Inc. Rep. 007631, Incident Report (Dec. 1, 2012); MC-RFP-
Inc. Rep. 007292, Incident Report (Nov. 16, 2012); MC-RFP-Inc.
Rep. 004175, Incident Report (Aug. 15, 2012); MC-RFP-Inc. Rep.
025778, Incident Report (June 6, 2014)

99. Exhibit 99: MCSD_Emails_Reproduced-01682, Email chain between Randall

Tucker and Trey Bobinger (Jan. 8, 2016)

100. Exhibit 100: Q&A with Sheriff Randy Tucker, MADISON COUNTY
JOURNAL (Jan. 14, 2015)

101. Exhibit 101: MC-RFP 8-211, Email to Randall Tucker and Jeremy Williams
(Nov. 30, 2016)

102. Exhibit 102: MC-RFP-Inc. Rep. 020907, Incident Report (June 9, 2015)

103. Exhibit 103: MC-RFP-Inc. Rep. 020065, Incident Report (May 3, 2015)

104. Exhibit 104: MC-RFP-8-182, Narrative prepared by Jeremy Williams re

Manning incident (June 27, 2016)

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105. Exhibit 105: Complaint, Gibson v. Madison County, No. 3:16-cv-633 HTW-
LRA (S.D. Miss. Aug. 15, 2016)

106. Exhibit 106: Excerpt from Transcript of Deposition of Randall Tucker, Gibson
v. Madison County (Sep. 9, 2017)

107. Exhibit 107: Complaint, Cooper v. Tucker, No. 3:13-cv-350 HTW-LRA (S.D.
Miss. June 7, 2013)

108. Exhibit 108: MC-RFP-8-29, Complaint from Daryl Dozier and Domekia
Myers-Dozier to MCSD, (Mar. 16, 2015)

109. Exhibit 109: Response by Defendants to Plaintiffs’ First Set of Requests for
Production of Documents

110. Exhibit 110: Email chain between Kavitha Sivashanker and Charles Cowan, et
al. (Feb. 6, 2018)

111. Exhibit 111: Declaration of Jonathan K. Youngwood, Esq. (March 13, 2018)

112. Exhibit 112: Declaration of Joshua F. Tom, Esq. (March 13, 2018)

113. Exhibit 113: Declaration of Ezekiel R. Edwards, Esq. (March 13, 2018)

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RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, this 14th day of March, 2018.

By: /s/ Joshua Tom

Joshua Tom
SIMPSON THACHER & BARTLETT LLP
Jonathan K. Youngwood (pro hac vice) AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION
Janet A. Gochman (pro hac vice) OF MISSISSIPPI FOUNDATION
Isaac Rethy (pro hac vice) Joshua Tom (Miss. Bar No. 105392)
Kavitha S. Sivashanker (pro hac vice) 233 East Capitol Street
Nihara K. Choudhri (pro hac vice) Jackson, MS 39201
Christopher K. Shields (pro hac vice) (601) 354-3408
Brooke Jarrett (pro hac vice) JTom@aclu-ms.org
Christopher Jumin Lee (pro hac vice)
425 Lexington Avenue AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION
New York, NY 10017 FOUNDATION
(212) 455-2000 Ezekiel Edwards (pro hac vice)
jyoungwood@stblaw.com Jeffery Robinson (pro hac vice forthcoming)
jgochman@stblaw.com 125 Broad Street
irethy@stblaw.com New York, NY 10004
kavitha.sivashanker@stblaw.com (212) 549-2610
nchoudhri@stblaw.com eedwards@aclu.org
christopher.shields@stblaw.com jrobinson@aclu.org
bonnie.jarrett@stblaw.com
christopherjumin.lee@stblaw.com Attorneys for Plaintiffs

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