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Case: 25CI1:21-cv-00634-EFP Document #: 2 Filed: 10/07/2021 Page 1 of 6

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF HINDS COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI

FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT

DAVID L. ARCHIE, In His APPELLANT

Official Capacity as Supervisor
District 2

v. CAUSE N0.:_~----'-1_-0.--:::s:.,__<f_
HINDS COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
HINDS COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI APPELLEE

NOTICE OF APPEAL
(BILL OF EXCEPTIONS)

Pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated § 11-51-7 5, as amended, Appellant David L.

Archie ("Appellant"), by and through the undersigned counsel, hereby files his Notice of Appeal

of the resolution of the Hinds County Board of Supervisors, Hinds County, Mississippi

("Appellee") at its September 29, 2021 meeting concerning "the election of President and Vice

President." In support of his appeal, the Appellant would state as follows:

I. The Appellant, David L. Archie, is a sitting Hinds County Supervisor, who is a

resident of Hinds County, Mississippi.

2. The Appellee is the Hinds County Board of Supervisors (Hinds County,

Mississippi).

STATEMENT OF FACTS

3. On January 6, 2020, Appellee adopted the following policy:

RESOLVED to set a policy to elect a President and Vice President

at the Regular January Meeting in the first year of the Board term,
to have the Vice President ascend to the Presidency at the Regular
Meeting the following January and to elect a new Vice President
each January.
 Case: 25CI1:21-cv-00634-EFP Document #: 2 Filed: 10/07/2021 Page 2 of 6

4. At the beginning of2021, the then-Vice President Credell Calhoun ascended to the

Presidency of the Hinds County Board of Supervisors. And, Appellant was voted as the Vice

President.

5. Aggrieved with the way Appellant, inter alia, speak and handle business, Appellee

voted to remove Appellant from serving as the Vice President of the Hinds County Board of

Supervisors.

6. Appellee failed to identify or state any reason or reasons for its actions. Appellee

failed to provide any type of formal hearing. Appellee failed to provide Appellant any opportunity

to be heard whatsoever.

STATEMENT OF GROUNDS FOR APPEAL

7. Appellee's action to remove Appellant from the Vice-Presidency was unlawful

because it did not conform with the Fourteenth Amendment due process requirements.

8. Appellee's action to remove Appellant from the Vice-Presidency was inappropriate

and invalid because it was not made with a supermajority vote-that is a 2/3 vote of the Hinds

County Board of Supervisors.

9. The due process clause of the 14th Amendment provides that no state actor, such

as the Hinds County Board of Supervisors, shall "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property,

without due process of law." But just what is "due process" can be hard to define.

10. As a threshold matter, "garden-variety" Board of Supervisors' problems do not

implicate the 14th Amendment and are not justiciable in federal court. Out of respect for federalism

- specifically the Board of Supervisors' primary responsibility for conducting business and

handling its internal affairs - federal courts simply do not play a role in reviewing minor

irregularities, even when they might impact the outcome. Instead, it is the province of the state
 Case: 25CI1:21-cv-00634-EFP Document #: 2 Filed: 10/07/2021 Page 3 of 6

courts to sort out the many isolated, unintentional, and sometimes unavoidable errors that often

produce contested issues amongst supervisors and their actions.

11. Major irregularities of Boards of Supervisors and the way they act can lead to due

process violations. Although courts have yet to agree on a standard, many Boards of Supervisors'

due process violations share two common elements. First, an established policy or rule with a

common understanding- such as the resolution stating the Vice President ascent to the Presidency

- is in place before a Board's actions. Second, a Board changes or ignores this established rule

without sufficient justification and acts arbitrarily and capriciously. Such a change disrupts the

"reliance interests" of those voters who cast ballots and those who are serving on the Board, or of

those who otherwise would have cast ballots. When these two elements exist, courts may find that

a citizen's due process rights have been violated.

12. Appellant possessed a liberty interest to be able to work as the Vice President of

the Hinds County Supervisor without being forced to be silent, complicit in what he believes to be

inappropriate spending, etc. Additionally, Appellant possessed a liberty interest to be able to speak

on matters of public importance and not worry about retaliatory termination.

13. Appellant asserts that his open allegations of corruption of elected officials have

led to the retaliation against him and the removal of him from the Vice-Presidency, since he will

be the President of the Board in January 2022.

14. Appellant asserts that heated arguments or strong disagreement between Board

members are not grounds for removal of President or Vice President.

15. Finally, Appellee did not have a supermajority vote (2/3 vote) to remove Appellant

from the Vice-Presidency. As such, Appellant's removal from the Vice-Presidency was not valid.
 Case: 25CI1:21-cv-00634-EFP Document #: 2 Filed: 10/07/2021 Page 4 of 6

DESIGNATION OF RECORD

16. Pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated §11-51-75(a)(iii), Appellant hereby

requests the designation of record include, but not be limited to:

a. Minutes, all notes, transcripts, and recordings from the Hinds County Board of

Supervisors' January 6, 2020 Meeting, specifically related to the Election of President

and Vice President of the Board.

b. Minutes, all notes, transcripts, and recordings from the Hinds County Board of

Supervisors' January 4, 2021 Meeting, specifically related to then-Vice President

Credell Calhoun being appointed to the Presidency.

c. Minutes, all notes, transcripts, and recordings from the Hinds County Board of

Supervisors' December 21, 2020 Meeting, specifically related to the election of

Appellant David L. Archie to the Vice Presidency.

d. Minutes, all notes, transcripts, and recordings from the Hinds County Board of

Supervisors' September 29, 2021 Meeting, specifically related to the removal of Vice

President David L. Archie.

e. All documents considered by the Appellee in reaching its decision to remove Appellant

from the Vice Presidency.

f. All documents submitted to the Appellee regarding the removal of Appellant from the

Vice Presidency.

g. All correspondence, including but not limited to emails, text messages, and memos,

between and/or amongst the Appellee concerning the removal of Appellant from the

Vice Presidency.
 Case: 25CI1:21-cv-00634-EFP Document #: 2 Filed: 10/07/2021 Page 5 of 6

OF COUNSEL:

Terris C. Harris, J.D., LL.M.

MSB# 99433
THE COCHRAN FIRM-JACKSON, LLC
197 Charmant Place, Suite 2
RIDGELAND, MS 39157
tharris@cochranfirm. com
601.790.7600 (Office)
866.860.3857 (Fax)
 Case: 25CI1:21-cv-00634-EFP Document #: 2 Filed: 10/07/2021 Page 6 of 6

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I, Terris C. Harris, one of the attorneys for David L. Archie, hereby certifY that I have

caused to be served on October 7, 2021, as follows:

Eddie Jean Carr

Hinds County Chancery Clerk
Via Hand Delivery

Robert Graham, District 1

Hinds County Board of Supervisors
Via Hand Delivery

Credell Calhoun, District 3 (President)

Hinds County Board of Supervisors
Via Hand Delivery

Vern 0. Gavin, District 4

Hinds County Board of Supervisors
Via Hand Delivery

Bobby McGowan, District 5

Hinds County Board of Supervisors
Via Hand Delivery

Date: October 7, 2021