Terry Lee Shell

“ Plaintiff remained at his assignment at the jail until approximately one month prior to the trial of this case. The conditions of his assignment remained substantially the same with the exception of his transfer to the "swing shift" on October 1, 1975. The "swing shift" works between the hours of four o'clock in the afternoon to twelve o'clock midnight.
Plaintiff's legal contentions in this case are that these defendants, acting individually and in concert, under color of state law, punished him in violation of rights secured [p200] to him by the laws and Constitution of the United States. ”

“ A score of one hundred percent is perfect. In police department matters the Commission assigns a forty percent value to an applicant's score on the written exam and a twenty percent value on his or her seniority in rank. Job performance ratings assigned by an applicant's immediate supervisor on a quarterly basis are computed semi-annually and submitted to the Commission to cover a one-year period prior to the date of application. These ratings are afforded a ten percent value. The Chief of Police rates each applicant and this rating is assigned a value of ten percent. ”

“ That plaintiff was punished is clear upon review of the evidence under these circumstances relating to the conditions under which he worked in the jail. The evidence further established that plaintiff's career service record was blemished by low job efficiency ratings as a result of this conspiracy. Furthermore, it is obvious upon these facts that defendants, acting pursuant to the conspiracy, intended to intimidate plaintiff from the exercise of his rights in the future. ”

“ Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom or usage of any state . . . subjects any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress. ”

“ Patrolman Richard Fulks testified that in "mid-1975" he had a meeting with Chief Weeks at his own request to complain to the Chief about an incident which Fulks felt clearly showed that Charles Crawford, a member of the Civil Service Commission, was prejudiced against him. During this meeting Chief Weeks told Patrolman Fulks that although he knew Fulks and Simpson were friends, it was Simpson who had been identified as the snitch. ”

“ Campbell was plaintiff's immediate supervisor in the jail. Although Asst. Chief Terry did not supervise plaintiff at anytime during the first quarter of 1975, the testimony clearly revealed that it was Terry who actually assigned the low grades to Simpson. Lt. Campbell merely wrote them down according to Terry's instructions. Chief Weeks, himself, testified that as a veteran of many years of service at the L.R.P.D. he has never known of any officer other than Simpson who has received zero ratings. ”

“ The Court views a finding of such intent necessary in this dispute if this case is to fall within the purview of the Constitution. It must be remembered that intent is a state of mind, ethereal in nature, and can rarely, if ever, be established by direct proof. The circumstantial evidence detailed below satisfies this Court that these defendants entertained sufficient intent when punishing the plaintiff to sustain plaintiff's claim.
On February 4, 1975, before the conclusion of the Phillips trial, Lt. Parkman and Lt. Simpson attended a staff meeting conducted by Chief Weeks. ”

“ Mays' work product in that case. During the Phillips trial Sgt. Maughn was assigned to the task of attending to Chief Weeks' needs in preparing for each day of trial. Maughn reported to Chief Weeks daily prior to trial to discuss the case and was present with the Chief at almost every session of the evidentiary phase. Information received through Scott was reported to the Chief during the course of the trial. Sgt. Maughn testified, however, that it was not until March 3, 1975, more than two weeks after the Phillips trial concluded, that Scott produced any information with regard to Simpson. ”

“ His ratings for the first six months of 1975 indicated that it was the view of his supervisors (and others who helped mark the reports) that Simpson's talents as a police officer left something to be desired. ”