Page 2
1
The deposition of BILLY JOE MEDLEY was
2 taken at the offices of Moore, Rader, Clift, and
3 Fitzpatrick, 46 North Jefferson Avenue, Cookeville,
4 Tennessee, on April 5, 1999.
5
It was stipulated and agreed by and between
6 the respective parties of the herein-entitled cause of
7 action that the deposition herein was taken by agreement
8 pursuant to the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure and/or
9 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, whichever is applicable,
10 before Maxine Frasier, Court Reporter and Notary Public at
11 Large in the State of Tennessee;
12
That all testimony and proceedings be
13 written down in shorthand by her and thereafter transcribed
14 by her or under her direction, and that said deposition may
15 be read and used in evidence in said cause of action in any
16 trial thereon or any proceeding therein;
17
That all objections, except as to the form
18 of the question, are reserved to on or before the hearing.
19 And it is further agreed that all formalities as to
20 caption, certificate, transmission filing, etc., are
21 expressly waived. It is agreed that the Court Reporter,
22 being a Notary, may swear the witness and, after
23 transcribing the testimony, submit the same to witness for
24 signature.
25
Page 3
1
INDEX OF TESTIMONY
2 The Testimony of BILLY JOE MEDLEY
3 Examination by Mr. Allen
........................... 4
4
5
6
INDEX OF EXHIBITS
7 No.
Page
8 1, Citation for disturbing the peace ...................
26
9 2, Minutes of mayor/alderman meeting ...........
30 -
10 3, Warrant signed by Fred Helsley ......................
36
11 4, Complaint .......................................
. 45
12 5, Answer
.......................................
. 45
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23 Note: All proper names, unless provided by counsel to the
24 reporter, represent the best phonetic approximation of that
25 name.
Page 4
1
BILLY JOE MEDLEY,
2 having first been duly sworn, was examined and deposed as
3 follows:
4
5 EXAMINATION BY MR. JOHN WAYNE ALLEN:
6
7 Q
Mr. Medley, my name is John Wayne
8 Allen. I'll be asking some questions today. If you don't
9 understand anything, let me know. You heard the other
10 people when they testified that ... if you don't remember
11 something, just tell me that; or if I need to refresh your
12 recollection, just ask me to. Okay?
13 A
I'll do it.
14 Q
Your name is Billy Joe Medley.
15 A
Right.
16 Q
And you're one of the defendants in
17 this case.
18 A
Yes.
19 Q
And you've been active in politics for
20 some time, haven't you?
21 A
Quite a few years.
22 Q
You from Silver Point?
23 A
Originally. Raised there.
24 Q
You're about seventy-three, I guess?
25 A
Right on the money. You want me to
Page 5
1 tell you who my doctor was that delivered me? Dr. Smith.
2 Q
That goes back a way.
3 A
Goes back a way.
4 Q
And as a young man, you spent a lot of
5 time around Silver Point?
6 A
Yes.
7 Q
And Baxter, Boma, Buffalo Valley?
8 A
The whole area, whole lower end area.
9 Q
And you know the politics down there
10 pretty well.
11 A
Close.
12 Q
It's changing, I guess.
13 A
No, not too much.
14 Q
Really?
15 A
Not too much.
16 Q
And there's a bunch of Medleys down
17 there.
18 A
Right.
19 Q
Or there was.
20 A
They're not many now.
21 Q
When did you first get involved in
22 politics down in the lower end?
23 A
Oh, I'm going to say, Mr. Allen, thirty
24 years ago. That's a long time. Thirty years.
25
Now but you've lived elsewhere, haven't
Page 6
1 you?
2 A
Oh, yes, yes. I've lived in Michigan.
3 I've lived in Florida. I've lived in Texas. I've lived in
4 Alabama. I've lived in Kentucky. I've lived in South
5 Carolina. Now if --
6 Q
When did you leave the lower end?
7 A
Oh, 1943.
8 Q
You was in your twenties.
9 A
Right.
10 Q
And you had to leave the lower end to
11 go to work.
12 A
Went to Michigan.
13 Q
But before the forties, you was in some
14 businesses down there, weren't you?
15 A
I don't think so.
16 Q
Ever been in the trapping business?
17 A
No, no, no.
18 MR. RADER:
You mean besides trapping your client?
19 MR. ALLEN:
20 Q
Trapping for foxes,
21 A
No, no, no, no.
22 Q
-- that type of thing? Never was
23 A
No.
24 Q
-- in the trapping business.
25 A
No.
Page 7
1 Q
Fur trading, nothing like that.
2 A
No.
3 Q
So you weren't involved in any business
4 down there in the thirties --
5 A
No.
6 Q
or early forties.
7 A
No.
8 Q
And you were a high steel worker,
9 weren't you?
10 A
What?
11 Q
High steel worker?
12 A
Yes.
13
You worked on sky scrapers?
14 A
High rises.
15 Q
And that was some pretty skilled labor
16 back then, wasn't it?
17 A
Still is.
18 Q
Still is. Did you go to Chicago?
19 A
No, never did go to Chicago and work.
20 Worked southern, what we called the southern, you know--
21 Florida, Georgia, Alabama--south. Worked the south.
22 Q
Lot of high rises going on back then.
23 A
Yeah. Well, four stories was high rise
24 then.
25 Q
And you lived in Detroit for awhile?
Page 8
1 A
Yes.
2 Q
Work in the auto industry?
3 A
Worked in the ... during the war. That's
4 where I went in service, from Michigan.
5 Q
And you were in the Army, too, I guess.
6 A
In the Marine Corp.
7 Q
In the Marine Corp. And you were
8 stationed state side or did you go --
9 A
Went overseas.
10
Where did you go?
11 A
South Pacific.
12 Q
This was in World War II.
13 A
Yes.
14 Q
'43.
15 A
Yes.
16 Q
Before you went to work in the steel
17 industry.
18 A
Yes.
19 Q
You over there till '45? Over there
20 till '45?
21 A
November 15, 1945.
22 Q
Then you came back to Tenn --
23 A
Yes.
24 Q
back to Michigan?
25 A
Yes. No. I come back to Tennessee.
Page 9
1 Q Were you also
involved in the Korean
2 conflict?
3 A No.
4 Q Didn't -
5 A No.
6 Q - pull any
service in that?
7 A No.
8 Q You came back to
Tennessee in November,
9 ‘45.
10 A Right.
11 Q And did
you stick around here awhile?
12 A Stayed about
six months and went to
13 Michigan and went to work in a plant again, making
14 automobile doors.
15 Q General
Motors.
16 A Briggs.
I don't know who. Whoever
17 Briggs made for--General Motors. They made for quite a few
18 people; but they made the doors.
19 Q Then you
left Detroit about when?
20 A Oh, I stayed
there about two year.
21 Q And then
you started working in the
22 southern realm?
23 A Yes.
24 Q On high
steel.
25 A- Right.
Page 10
1 Q
And pretty dangerous work.
2 A
Right. I'll tell you where I started.
3 1 started on the Smithville bridge down here going to
4 Smithville across the lake, right there.
5 Q
Then you lived in Texas.
6 A
I lived ... no. I ain't never been to
7 Texas. I've been through there, but I --
8 Q
You didn't work in Texas.
9 A
No, no.
10 Q
You worked in Florida.
11 A
I worked in Florida. I worked in
12 Alabama, worked in Georgia.
13 Q
All on high steel and
14 A
High steel. Well, it was back
15 when ... Mr. Allen, when we started, --
16
[Ms. Cripps leaves room.]
17 MR. DRAPER:
Do we need to stop here?
18 MS. CRIPPS:
No, sir.
19 MR. RADER:
Go ahead. I'll watch
20 A
-- four stories was high, you know; but
21 now, that's a ground floor, is four stories.
22 Q
Did you work on maybe twenty story
23 buildings?
24 A
Twenties and thirties and forties and
25 fifties.
Page 11
1 Q
So you were up there.
2 A
Up on --
3 Q
Saw a lot of people get killed, I
4 guess.
5 A
One man. One man.
6 Q
Did you come back to the lower end in
7 the sixties, retire after then?
8 A
No, no. I retired. I got hurt in 1972
9 working over here at Normandy on the dam over there for
10 TVA. 11 Q
In West Tennessee.
12 A
Yeah. They dropped a roof on us.
13 Q
Then you came back to the lower end
14 probably for --
15 A
Came back to Baxter, lower end down
16 here.
17 Q
And were you in politics in the early
18 seventies down --
19 A
Fifties. Started ... well, yes, in the
20 seventies. Yes. Started in the seventies.
21 Q
You moved back to the Town of Baxter
22 or --
23 A
Moved back to the Town of Baxter.
24
And did you run for alderman back then?
25 A
I run for mayor. I've been mayor three
Page12
1 times down there.
2 Q
When were you first elected?
3 A
19 ... Mr. Allen, I'm going to say 1981.
4 1 believe that's right.
5 Q
So a four year term?
6 A
Two years back then. They've
7 just ... they've changed it here in the last, oh, what,
8 couple of years ago, three years ago?
9 Q
You served that term, --
10 A
Yes.
11 Q
-- two years.
12 A
Yes.
13 Q
Then you come back in the late eighties
14 and got re-elected ... got elected again?
15 A
Got elected in '86 again.
16 Q
Before then ... after you were mayor the
17 first time in the early eighties, were you ever alderman?
18 A
No. Run for alderman one time and got
19 beat.
20
Okay. This was since you ran for mayor
21 or before?
22 A
No. I got elected the first time I run
23 for mayor. Then I run for mayor again and got beat.
24 Q
Okay. So you've lost one --
25 A
Twice.
Page13
1
-- lost one race for alderman.
2 A
One race for alderman and two for
3 mayor.
4 Q
And two for mayor.
5 A
Yes. If I'm not bad wrong.
6 Q
And you were elected in the late
7 eighties again. Is that right?
8 A
'86.
9 Q
Okay.
10 A
I believe I'm right.
11 Q
Did you serve your entire term that
12 time?
13 A
Yes. Two years.
14 Q
Two years.
15 A
Yes.
16 Q
You didn't have to resign or
17 A
No.
18
You never did resign or
19 A
No.
20 Q
Still had two year terms back then.
21 A
Two year terms back then was all they
22 had.
23 Q
You lived in Detroit. Did you live in
24 an ethnic neighborhood?
25 A
Lived with everything. If you want to
Page 14
1 call it ethnic, you call it whatever you want to.
2 Everything in the country lived there--hillbillies, red
3 necks, Cubans, Mexicans, colored folks.
4 Q
Did you have any conflicts with anybody
5 in these ethnic neighborhoods?
6 A
No. Just joined them.
7 Q
You were able to live peaceably with
8 people of other --
9 A
Oh, yes.
10 Q
-- ethnic --
11 A
Yes.
12 Q
-- backgrounds.
13 A
Yes.
14 Q
Has anyone ever threatened you with
15 death or serious bodily harm?
16 A
Yes, they have.
17 Q
Was that in those neighborhoods or
18 A
Right here. Right here in town. Since
19 I've been mayor the last time, I've been threatened three
20 times. 21 Q
And what was the nature of those?
22 A
11,111 kill you." How much plainer can
23 you get than that? 24 Q
What was this about?
25 A
I know this ... I don't know what it was
Page 15
1 about. "If you do this to my husband or you do that to my
2 husband, I'll kill you."
3 Q
So these are women that threatened you.
4 A
one woman that threatened me and two
5 men. I know the woman. I could tell you the woman; but
6 I'll not ... I will not do that now. I'll tell you in
7 advance I won't tell you who she is. The sheriff over here
8 knows who she is.
9
Did you prosecute her?
10 A
No. I just turned her in to the people
11 over there.
12
They threatened to kill you three
13 times.
14 A
Yes.
15 Q
And have you ever threatened to kill
16 anybody else?
17 A
No, no.
18 MR. RADER:
Wait a minute. He hasn't threatened to
19 kill anybody that I know of. What's this "anybody else"?
20 MR. ALLEN:
21 Q
Well, you
22 MR. RADER:
What's this
23 MR. ALLEN:
24 Q
Have you ever threatened to kill
25 anybody?
Page 16
1 A
No, no. I was talking to my wife--I
2 know where you're going, Mr. Allen. I can tell you exactly
3 where you're headed. I was talking --
4 MR. RADER:
Billy Joe, --
5 A
I -_
6 MR. RADER:
-- just answer the question.
7 A
I'll answer the question. No.
8 MR. RADER:
You're going to have --
9 MR. ALLEN:
10 Q
Have you ever threatened
11 MR. RADER:
to wait till Molly --
12 MR. ALLEN:
13 Q
anybody with serious
14 MR. RADER:
gets back --
15 MR. ALLEN: 16 Q
bodily harm?
17 MR. RADER:
in here. Just a minute. Just time
18 out. I didn't hear that question. We can either
wait for
19 Molly; or we can let me listen to the questions, one or the
20 other. So what's the question?
21 MR. ALLEN:
22 Q
Have you ever threatened anybody with
23 serious bodily harm?
24 A
No.
25 Q
Never.
Page 17
1 A
No.
2 Q
Never threatened to kill anybody.
3 A
No.
4 Q
Are you a member of any political
5 organization, any fringe organization, any white
6 supremacist organization?
7 MR. RADER:
Wait a minute. That's three questions.
8 Which one do you want answered? 9
MR. ALLEN:
10 Q
Are you a member of a white supremacist
11 organization? 12
A
No.
13 Q
Member of the Ku Klux Klan?
14 A
I know of them now.
15 Q
Pardon?
16 A
I know of them now.
17 Q
Are you a member of that organization?
18 A
No.
19 Q
American Nazi party?
20 A
No.
21 Q
Aryan Nation?
22 A
I had to fight for this country. No
23 way.
24 Q
Do you have any Ku Klux Klan regalia in
25 your closet?
Page 18
1 A
No.
2 Q
No hoods?
3 A
No.
4 Q
No robes?
5 A
No robes.
6 Q
Do you believe in the superiority of
7 the white race?
8 MR. MELSON:
I'm going to object to this.
9 MR. RADER:
How is that relevant?
10 MR. MELSON:
I mean, I don't know that this has got
11 a thing to do with anything but trying to oppress and
12 harass this witness in violation of Rule 26.
13 MR. ALLEN:
Well, I --
14 MR. RADER:
And Mr. Delaney is white. If he was a
15 black person, that might be relevant.
16 MR. MELSON:
Right.
17 MR. ALLEN:
I believe
18 MR. RADER:
19 Q
Your family is not black, are they?
20 Your wife and mother is not black, are they?
21 A
Are yours?
22 MR. RADER:
23 Q
Or your stepfather?
24 A
Are yours?
25 MR. RADER:
Well, no. But, I mean, he's
Page 19
1 raised ... he's asked this.
2 A
Okay.
3 MR. RADER:
4 Q
Did I
5 A
I just
6 MR. RADER:
7 Q
Did I ask you anything before?
8 MR. ALLEN:
Mr. Rader, according to the rules, I
9 have the right to ask Mr. medley anything regarding
10 potential discoverable material.
11 MR. RADER:
Well, how --
12 MR. ALLEN:
Now, if you would like --
13 MR. RADER:
If you can make ... if you can tell me
14 how --
15
[Ms. Cripps returns.]
16 MR. ALLEN:
If you would like to get some kind of
17 protective order, be glad to, you know, hear it.
18 MR. RADER:
You tell me how... you tell me ... you
19 know, you've asked him about the Aryan race and the Ku Klux
20 Klan. You tell me how black/white issues are relevant in
21 this lawsuit; and
22 MR. ALLEN:
Any discoverable material.
23 MR. RADER:
Well, how is that discover
24 MS. CRIPPS:
How is that discoverable in this
25 MR. RADER:
How is that going to lead to relevant
Page 20
1 information? That's the question.
2 MR. ALLEN:
Well, he has denied making threats of
3 serious bodily injury to people, that type of thing.
4 MR. RADER:
Well, are you accusing him of making
5 threats to black people?
6 MR. ALLEN:
we're going ... we're going to get into
7 that; and he, like I say, knows where he's going.
8 MR. RADER:
Well, how is that relevant to the
9 issues about a water line on
10 MR. ALLEN:
Any discoverable information.
11 MR. RADER:
Well, how is that discoverable?
12 MR. ALLEN:
I'll be glad to let you get a
13 protective order; but I have the right to ask him these
14 questions.
15 MR. RADER:
Well, I'd like to understand. I'd like
16 for you... I call upon you to tell us how this can lead to
17 discoverable information that's relevant to this lawsuit.
18 MR. ALLEN:
Well, because it's our position that
19 Mr. Medley has been an abusive political leader in his
20 time; and he abused --
21 A
You are bad wrong there, Mr. Allen.
22 MR. RADER:
You be quiet a minute.
23 MR. ALLEN:
Go ahead and object; but I'm going to
24 try to ask him these questions.
25 MS. CRIPPS:
I do. Note my objection, Mr. Allen.
Page 21
1 And if you could--I understand that you're trying to assert
2 that this has been a policy of his, a practice.
3 MR. ALLEN:
Right.
4 MS. CRIPPS:
Could you go into a little more detail
5 with that before you go on with these questions?
6 MR. ALLEN:
Okay.
7 Q
Have you ever been arrested?
8 A
Yeah.
9 Q
What were you arrested for?
10 A
Being drunk.
11 Q
And when was that?
12 A
Oh, well, I don't know. When the old
13 jail was down here, if you remember. He does, but I
14 don't . . . or I know you don't; because he wasn't around
here.
15 Not the new one now.
16 Q
You've never been arrested --
17 A
Well, I was arrested... yes, I was; and
18 I'll take that back--here . . . oh, they sent me up
here to
19 make a bond, $1,000 bond. See if you can find it in
there.
20 MR. DRAPER:
21 Q
1996? May of 1996?
22 A
No. It was later than that.
23 MR. ALLEN:
24 Q
Were you arrested in May of 1996 for
25 disturbing the peace at Upperman High School by Chief
Page 22
1 Michael Smith?
2 A
No. I was given a ticket.
3
You were given a ticket.
4 A
Yeah.
5
But at that time, you went to Upperman
6 High School threatening to "shoot a nigger" and said you
7 had a .45 gun to do so. Is that right?
8 A
Didn't have nothing. The school didn't
9 prosecute. The chief brought that up, him and Emil
10 Emerton; and they prosecuted the thing. They didn't hear
11 me make no threat. And I volunteered up here and paid my
12 dues up to this court up here; and that's the last you'll
13 get out of me about that. But if you continue on, then
14 I'll take the Fifth Amendment on you right here.
15 Q
You pled guilty to that, though, didn't
16 you?
17 A
Yeah, I pled guilty; and I paid off;
18 and that's the end of it.
19 Q
$25?
20 A
Well, that's what they fined me.
21 MR. RADER:
22 Q
Well, what was the charge? What was
23 the citation for?
24 A
They said I threatened to kill a nigger
25 over there.
Page 23
1 MR. RADER:
Well, that's not a citeable offense.
2 Q
What was the citation?
3 A
That's not very excitable to me.
4 MR. ALLEN:
5 Q
You --
6 A
I pleaded guilty.
7 Q
You were not charged with --
8 A
Now let me repeat this again. You keep
9 on; and I won't answer n'ary n'other question you ask me.
10 MR. RADER:
What was he charged with?
11 MR. ALLEN:
Disturbing the peace.
12 A
They ain't no such a law as disturbing
13 the peace.
14 MR. RADER:
Well, you don't need to be --
15 A
Well, I ain't quoting it --
16 MR. RADER:
quoting the law any more than
17 Mr. Delaney did.
18 A
like Delaney here, no.
19 MR. RADER:
I know. But we need to clarify these
20 questions here.
21 Q
Did you plead guilty to disturbing the
22 peace?
23 A
I pled guilty to . . . I don't know what I
24 pled guilty to. They put it up to the grand jury and
25 brought it back down.
Page 24
1 MR. ALLEN:
2 Q
But you deny threatening to shoot a
3 young black man.
4 A
[No response.]
5 Q
Do you deny threatening to shoot a
6 young black man with a .45 gun?
7 A
[No response.]
8 Q
Would you answer the question?
9 A
I won't answer no more. I told you
10 awhile ago I wasn't going to answer no more. I told
you
11 exactly what happened and all I was going to tell you; and
12 that's all you're getting.
13 MS. CRIPPS:
Mr. Allen, if this is the only incident
14 regarding to do that--I mean, are you going to be rattling
15 off several other incidents --
16 MR. ALLEN:
Yes.
17 MS. CRIPPS:
-- that he threatened other people?
18 MR. ALLEN:
Yes. Do you have any objection to him
19 answering the question?
20 MS. CRIPPS:
Dan, could I speak with you, please?
21 MR. RADER:
Sure.
22
[Mr. Rader and Ms. Cripps leave room
23
and return.]
24 MR. RADER:
What's the question?
25 MR. ALLEN:
Page 25
1 Q
Do you deny threatening to shoot a
2 young black man at Upperman High School on 5-24-96?
3 A
Yes.
4 Q
You did not?
5 A
I did not.
6 Q
You were cited by Chief Smith.
7 A
Never did hear nothing. He was told.
8 Q
He was told to do this.
9 A
He told to do that by the former... the
10 ex-mayor down there.
11 Q
And was this a time that the campaign
12 had already started?
13 A
Now that, I can't answer you.
14 Q
But you deny making that threat.
15 A
Yes, I do.
16 Q
But you pled guilty.
17 A
I pled guilty.
18 MR. RADER:
Wait.
19 MR. ALLEN:
20 Q
Were you fined $25 and court costs?
21 A
Yes.
22 Q
And that's the only punishment you got?
23 A
I pled guilty; and I paid the court
24 costs and the . . . .
25
Did you have a firearm on the premises
Page 26
1 of the school?
2 A
I did not.
3 Q
You weren't charged with a hate crime.
4 A
No.
5 Q
I'd like to make this an exhibit to
6 Mr. Medley's deposition.
7 MR. RADER:
What is it?
8 MS. CRIPPS:
May we see it first?
9
[Document passed to Mr. Rader and
10
Ms. Cripps.]
11 MR. RADER:
Let the record reflect this is a
12 citation issued by the Baxter Police Department for
13 disturbing the peace.
14
[Citation for disturbing the peace
15
marked Exhibit 1.]
16 MR. ALLEN:
17 Q
There was no witnesses for you making
18 this threat down at Upperman High School?
19 A
I was talking to some people over the
20 telephone.
21 Q
Oh, you didn't go down there?
22 A
I was in the high school; but I was
23 talking to some people on the telephone. I don't know who
24 was listening; but I wasn't making no --
25 Q
You were there at Upperman High School,
Page 27
1 talking on the phone to some other people.
2 A
Right.
3
But you believe that this charge was
4 politically motivated.
5 A
Yes.
6 Q
By Mr. Smith?
7 A
Yes.
8
And Mr. Emerton?
9 A
Yes.
10 Q
And then when you were elected mayor in
11 August of '96, did you fire Mr. Smith?
12 A
I did not. He quit.
13 Q
Oh, he quit.
14 MR. RADER:
Let me clear something up.
15 Q
Were you an official of the City of
16 Baxter when this citation was issued?
17 A
No.
18 MR. RADER:
All right. Go ahead. I'm sorry. I
19 was confused. Go ahead.
20 MR. ALLEN:
21 Q
And you were elected Mayor of the Town
22 of Baxter in 8-96.
23 A
Right.
24 Q
And is this going to be your last stint
25 in politics?
Page 28
1 A
I doubt it.
2 Q
So you're going to run for re-election.
3 A
I hope I do. Hope I live long enough.
4 Q
Did you pay anyone to vote for you in
5 that election, August of '96?
6 A
I don't think so.
7 Q
Pass out any election whiskey?
8 A
No. I drank all that myself,
9 Mr. Allen.
10 Q
What was your margin of victory?
11 A
I don't have no idea. The only thing I
12 know, the man went away crying when he got beat. That's
13 the only thing I know.
14 Q
This was not Mr. Emerton?
15 A
No. This was Mr.
16
Was it Issom Keith?
17 A
Keith.
18 Q
And on the evening of the election in
19 August of '96, did you make any offensive racial slurs to
20 elderly ladies --
21 A
I did not.
22 Q
at the Senior Citizens
23 A
I –
24 Q
Center?
25 A
did not. I did not.
Page 29
1 Q
Did you go to the regular meeting of
2 the Baxter City Hall on August 8, 1996?
3 A
Don't remember.
4 Q
Do you recall --
5 A
August 8, '96. No, not as I know of.
6 Q
Do you recall Mayor Emerton presenting
7 a resolution condemning you for --
8 A
No, I know I didn't go. Now I can
9 answer your question. No. No, I didn't go.
10 Q
-- for making racial slurs to senior
11 citizens on election night?
12 A
No.
13 Q
You deny doing that?
14 A
I deny doing that.
15 Q
Did you have any contact with a
16 gentleman down there named Henry Malliet? Do you know
him?
17 A
The colored man?
18 Q
A black man.
19 A
Black man. Yeah. He worked for the
20 senior ... or goes to the senior citizens down there.
21 Q
Did you make any racial slurs
22 A
I did not.
23 Q
-- involving him?
24 A
I did not.
25 Q
But you are aware that the city council
Page 30
1 condemned you for this?
2 A
No. I didn't know it till Delaney
3 brought it up here.
4 Q
You don't know that Ms. Ruth Crislip
5 made a motion to pass this resolution, --
6 A
I did not.
7 Q
-- seconded by Alderman McBroom?
8 A
McBroom?
9 Q
Do you recognize that?
10 A
Now this was before my time. McBroom
11 was in the other administration.
12 Q
I think this was an outgoing council.
13 A
Outgoing, yeah. And Wilhite come in
14 the same time I did; so I don't know anything about this.
15 No.
16 Q
Is that the official minutes?
17 A
August 8, 19 ... regular meeting, city
18 hall. I don't see no signature on the bottom of it here.
19 Q
But is that usually the way that the
20 minutes are written up?
21 A
Yes.
22
[8-8-96 Minutes of mayor/aldermen
23
meeting marked Exhibit 2.]
24 A
Ninety six point ... dash six, I don't
25 remember. Sexual harassment? Oh, no. That's sickening.
Page31
1 That's absolutely sickening.
2 MR. DRAPER:
It's only what's in the highlighted
3 portion.
4 A
The rest of it is, too.
5 MR. ALLEN:
6 Q
But you deny making those racial slurs.
7 A
I didn't make it.
8 Q
And you didn't make any racially
9 offensive remarks toward Mr. Malliet.
10 A
I did not.
11 Q
Or toward the ladies that work there?
12 A
Nor the ladies that work there.
13 Q
Did you ever threaten to kill Mr-Emil
14 Emerton?
15 A
No.
16 Q
At the Wagon Wheel Restaurant?
17 A
Lord, no. Used to be a good friend of
18 mine but he turned me in for making moonshine, which
I
19 never did make no moonshine.
20 Q
Were you charged with making moonshine?
21 A
No.
22 Q
When did he turn you in for that?
23 A
Back two or three months before ... say a
24 year. You don't have it. I'm just giving you a little
bit
25 of free information here that you don't have.
Page 32
1 Q
You were never arrested for making
2 moonshine.
3 A
No. Then I didn't threaten to kill
4 Mr. Emerton. He used to be -
5 Q
Didn't threaten to kill Mr. –
6 A
No. He used to be a friend of mine.
7 Q
What ever happened to Mr. Emerton?
8 A
He's laying over here in the bed,
9 waiting to die.
10 Q
He had a stroke or something?
11 A
Yeah.
12 Q
And you deny making the racial slurs to
13 the ladies
14 A
Yes, I do deny it.
15 Q
Now when you went to Upperman High
16 School, what were you doing at Upperman High School that
17 day?
18 A
They told me my granddaughter was
19 skipping school, is what I was doing over there. It was
20 next to the last day of school; and that's what I was going
21 to see, if she was skipping school.
22 Q
And did you talk to any of the
23 officials down there except on the phone?
24 A
No, no, no. I might have talked to
25 Shanks. I don't know. But I don't think so. The other
Page 33
1 assistant principal was in there. No, I didn't.
2 Q
Did you talk to Mr. Covington?
3 A
There you go. That's the man. Yes, I
4 talked to him.
5 Q
And did you talk to any of the other
6 teachers?
7 A
Don't think so.
8 Q
You don't remember who you talked to on
9 the telephone that time?
10 A
Yes, I do; but I'll not tell you.
11 Q
Was it someone connected with the
12 accusations?
13 A
No.
14
And back on 6-20-98, did you have an
15 argument with Mr. Fred Helsley --
16 A
I did.
17 Q
-- in which you accused him of
18 operating a whore house?
19 A
I did. I've got proof of that. I got
20 officers in the court up here that I can prove it by;
but
21 I'm not telling you who they are.
22 Q
And then you struck Mr. Helsley in the
23 face with your hand?
24 A
I hit him on the arm. I didn't hit him
25 in the face. I wished I had. If I'd seen a ash tray,
I'd
Page 34
1 have hit him with it.
2 Q
And why did you want to hit him?
3 A
He jumped like ... just like me and you
4 sitting right here--now you ladies will have to excuse me
5 for this--and called me a God damn liar and stuck his
6 finger right up in my face. And when he did, I throwed the
7 damn telephone at him.
8 Q
And you hit him with the telephone?
9 A
I hit the police with the telephone. I
10 didn't hit him.
11 Q
And that took place in front of
12 Mr. Wilhite.
13 A
Jeff was there.
14 Q
And he witnessed this.
15 A
Jeff did.
16 Q
You definitely hit him.
17 A
With my fist or the telephone?
18 Q
With a fist.
19 A
I don't think so. I hit him on the
20 wrist with my fist.
21 Q
You didn't strike him in the face.
22 A
No.
23 Q
And he was asking for a business
24 license.
25 A
Right. Let me give you--no, I won't
Page 35
1 volunteer you no information. No, no, no.
2 Q
So you threw a telephone at Mr. Helsley
3 and hit Officer Davidson with it.
4 A
Right. You ought to have a police
5 report in there.
6 Q
And this warrant that he swore out
7 against you: --
8 A
Right.
9 Q
-- "Fred E. Helsley went to City Hall
10 in Baxter with Officer Ken Davidson and Baxter Alderman
11 Jeff Wilhite to discuss getting a license for his business
12 with Joe medley. An argument developed; and Mr. Medley
13 struck Mr. Helsley in the face with his hand and attempted
14 to hit him with a telephone, causing him to fear serious
15 bodily harm." Is that correct? 16 A
Didn't cause him no serious bodily
17 harm.
18 Q
You were charged with assault?
19 A
That's what they charged me with.
20 That's where I was trying to think have I been in court
up
21 here.
22 Q
Is this report accurate?
23 MR. RADER:
Well, I object to that. That doesn't
24 like a report to me. That doesn't look like a report.
25 MS. CRIPPS:
Yeah. This is
Page 36
1 MR. ALLEN:
2
Is the warrant accurate?
3 MS. CRIPPS:
This is a warrant.
4 A
This is not General Sessions Court.
5 MR. ALLEN:
6 Q
You've not been tried on that charge
7 yet, have you, Mr. Medley?
8 A
No. It's pending in court.
9 Q
And you've got a trial date set?
10 A
Thirteenth of May.
11
[Warrant signed by Fred Helsley
12
marked Exhibit 3.1
13 Q
You recall having a confrontation with
14 Mr. Emil Emerton at the Wagon Wheel Restaurant?
15 A
No.
16 Q
Never did?
17 A
No.
18 Q
Defendant Medley, how do you know
19 plaintiff Mr. Dale Delaney? How did you come to know him?
20 A
Come up there and made a statement for
21 him with you, the saddest mistake that I've ever made in my
22 life, on that road down there.
23 Q
How was that a mistake?
24 A
I shouldn't have never done it.
25 Q
Well, I understand. But –
Page 37
1 A
That was the worst ... you know when you
2 make a mistake? That's one I made right there.
3 Q
But had you known him before that?
4 A
About a week.
5 Q
You'd never had any contact with him
6 before that.
7 A
No.
8 Q
And he approached you?
9 A
Yes, he did.
10
And what did he ask you?
11 A
Asked me did I know where the road was
12 down there; and I told him I did, where it used to be.
13 Q
So you knew where the old road was.
14 A
I was. And he brought me up there; and
15 1 made a affidavit in front of you.
16 Q
And you agree with that affidavit?
17 A
I'll still agree with that affidavit;
18 but that's the worst mistake that I ever made in my life,
19 was when I done that.
20 Q
I understand. But the affidavit that
21 you made that day was true and correct.
22 A
Best of my ability, best of my
23 recollection, is true and correct.
24 Q
And that's where that old road was.
25 A
That's where that old road was.
Page 38
1 Q
And YOU recall that from Your boyhood,
2 I guess.
3 A Do what?
4 Q YOU recall that from Your boyhood?
5 A Yes. Oh, no, not MY boyhood. My
6 boyhood was down at Silver Point.
7 Q But, I mean, you remember it
8 A Yes.
9 Q – ever since --
10 A Years.
11 Q YOU was a boy.
12 A Years. Yes. Up in years. And there
13 was two girls lived up there, too.
14 Q And You've only known him then for a
15 couple of years.
16 A That's right. And the worst two years
17 I’ve ever seen in my life.
18 Q Do you consider him a friend of Yours?
19 A No.
20 Q Do you have any opinion as to his
21 honesty and character?
22 A Don't ask me that. Don't ask me to
23 answer that.
24 Q You don't have an opinion.
25 A No, I don't have none. 1 won't give
Page 39
1 you one.
2 Q Well, do you think he’s a pretty honest
3 fellow?
4 A I told you I wouldn’t answer it.
5 Q What is your recollection regarding
6 this controversy over a water meter?
7 We provide a service. I’ve heard him
8 make two correct statements since I’ve been sitting here
9 this morning. A $465 statement he made, that’s correct.
10 That’s what they charge you to hook onto the water. They’d
11 already got a easement. They’s two easements in here that
12 put his water in there. You’ve hooked to it, Dale. You’re
13 hooked to that line that goes down through there.
14 Q Were you mayor at that time?
15 A No, no, no, no. I was mayor when they
16 put that last meter in down there. I guess Emil was mayor –
17 I don’t know – when they put the other water in.
18 Q How do you have knowledge of when they
19 put the water meter in for him if you weren’t mayor?
20 A No, I don’t . . . I have what they told me
21 was the knowledge. That’s hearsay, which I won’t tell you
22 that either. What I tell you, Mr. Allen, sitting there is
23 the truth. I won’t lie to you. I’ll tell you the truth
24 about anything, except some things that I won’t tell you.
25 Q Why don’t you want to tell me that,
Page 40
1 Mr. Medley?
2 A
Well, I'm not going to tell you that
3 after you've sat here and listened to that man all day and
4 you want me to give you an honest answer to that man? I
5 don't think you want no honest answer out of me.
6 Q
Certainly.
7 A
No. Not from me you don't.
8 Q
Well, what is your honest opinion of
9 Mr. Dale Delaney?
10 A
I don't have no honest opinion of him.
11 Q
While you were Mayor of the Town of town of
12 Baxter, do you recall reading a temporary restraining order
13 signed by Chancellor Vernon Neal?
14 A
After we'd set the meter.
15 Q
After you set the meter.
16 A
Yes.
17 Q
Do you remember talking to Mr. Delaney
18 on that Wednesday, Wednesday before Labor Day?
19 A
Don't think so.
20 Q
You don't recall talking to him?
21 A
I don't recall that.
22 Q
When did you make the statement that,
23 "I'm laying for you, Dale"?
24 A
I don't think that I made the
25 statement. He's got it on tape. Page
Page 41
1 Q
You don't think that's your voice?
2 A
Well, I won't deny my voice; but I also
3 told him I wasn't laying for him; I was making him a 4
promise.
5 Q
And what was your promise to him?
6 A
The promise if he took that meter out
7 of the ground, I was going to put him in jail; and that's
8 exactly where I put him.
9 Q
So what was the grounds for you wanting
10 to put him in jail?
11 A
That's city property. If I'd have took
12 it out, they'd have put me in jail.
13 Q
For what charge?
14 A
Stealing. That's stealing.
15 Q
And you still believe it's stealing?
16 A
Yes, I do. If I come over to your
17 house and steal your car tonight and bring it back
18 tomorrow, is that stealing?
19 Q
What do you think?
20 A
I know exactly what it is. It's
21 stealing.
22 Q
Wouldn't that regard whether you
23 intended to bring it back tomorrow or not?
24 A
That's not the thing of it. I don't
25 have no intention of bringing it back tomorrow if I take it
Page 42
1 tonight.
2 Q
But you might.
3 A
No, no.
4 Q
Now while you were promising –
5 A
After I talked to Mr. Draper there, I
6 called Dale Bohannon.
7 Q
Um-hum [affirmative response].
8 A
And Dale Bohannon told me, he said,
9 "Joe, you leave the meter where it is." And that's where
10 the meter is today, is where it is.
11 Q
In Mr. Delaney's complaint that he
12 filed against you --
13 A
Yeah.
14 Q
-- and the town,
15 A
Right.
16 Q
-- Mr. Wilhite,
17 A
Right.
18 Q
-- do you recall seeing this complaint?
19 A
I don't know what you're talking about.
20 If I see it and read it, then I'll ....
21 Q
Do you recall that complaint,
22 Mr. Medley?
23 A
No, I've not seen this one I don't
24 think. No. This is the first time I've seen it.
25 Q
You were not served with that
Page 43
1 A
Unless you served it when you served
2 all those papers. Did you serve that in those papers?
3 Q
Yes, sir.
4 A
I didn't read them. I stuck them in
5 the drawer. Now that's how much I thought of it. I put
6 them in the drawer.
7 Q
Why did you put it in the drawer?
8 A
Just because I wasn't going to read it.
9 Q
So you never did read this.
10 A
No, I didn't read it; and I've not read
11 it today.
12 Q
Has Mr. Rader gone over this with you?
13 A
Nobody has went over this with me.
14 Q
In Mr. Delaney's complaint,
15 Paragraph 13, he says, "At first, the mayor was very angry
16 and abusive toward the plaintiff, Mr. Delaney." Do you
17 deny ever being angry and abusive toward him?
18 A
I wasn't angry. I ain't never been
19 angry and abusive toward that man right there. He just
20 sits and lied to you if he said that in that paper.
21 Q
And you said: "I'm going to put you in
22 jail, Dale," or words to that effect. And, "I'm laying for
23 you, Dale. I'm making you a promise; I'm going to put
you
24 in jail." Did you tell him that?
25 A
Well, is that a threat?
Page 44
1 Q
Did you make that statement?
2 A
Is that a threat?
3 Q
I'm asking you if you made that
4 statement?
5 A
No. Why, yeah, I made the statement.
6 Now is that a threat?
7 Q
Here on your answer to this complaint,
8 Paragraph 13, you deny that, don't you, Mr. Medley?
9 A
If it's on there ... on it, I denied it.
10 Q
So you deny that.
11 A
Denied 13.
12 Q
Here's 13.
13 A
Yeah, I denied it. According to this
14 here, I have.
15 Q
So you denied that. That was a
16 statement that you made. You denied making that promise,
17 making that threat.
18 A
I made him a promise.
19 Q
That you was laying for him. What do
20 you mean by, "I'm laying for you"?
21 A
I didn't tell him I was laying for him.
22 Q
You didn't tell him that?
23 A
No.
24 Q
So the words on that tape is not
25 correct.
Page 45
1 A
Well, if he's got it on a tape ... if he
2 says that I was laying for him on that tape, play your
3 tape. Let's hear it.
4 Q
You've not had a chance to review that
5 tape?
6 A
No, I've not had no chance. It's like
7 some of this other stuff you'nse is supposed to have.
8 Q
And Mr. Rader didn't ... Ms. Cripps
9 didn't play it for you?
10 A
She sent me a
11 MS. CRIPPS:
Transcript.
12 A
-- transcript of it.
13 MR. ALLEN:
14 Q
And you deny that being your words on
15 the transcript?
16 A
I read some of them, but I don't
17 remember reading a 13.
18 MR. ALLEN:
I'd like to admit these two documents
19 as exhibits.
20
[Complaint marked Exhibit 4.1]
21
[Answer marked Exhibit 5.1]
22 MR. RADER:
The record needs to reflect, because I
23
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