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Justices allow depositions of Texas lawmakers in Voting Rights Act lawsuit
EMERGENCY DOCKET
Justices allow depositions of Texas lawmakers in Voting Rights Act lawsuit
By Amy Howe
on May 31, 2022 at 12:16 pm
The Supreme Court on Tuesday morning rejected a request from three Texas lawmakers to put off their depositions in lawsuits seeking to block redistricting legislation in that state. There were no dissents noted from the brief order, which clears the way for the depositions to go forward next month.
The order came in a dispute that arose after the Texas legislature’s October 2021 adoption of new maps for congressional and state elections. Ten different lawsuits followed, filed by individual voters, civil rights groups, and the U.S. Department of Justice, alleging that the maps violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which bars racial discrimination in election policies.
As part of their case before a three-judge district court, the challengers want to depose Texas legislators about the process that led to the new maps and the legislators’ motives in adopting them. The district court denied the legislators’ motion to put the depositions on hold, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit on May 20 turned down a request to postpone the depositions.
Three Republican members of the Texas House of Representatives came to the Supreme Court on May 21, asking the justices to step in. They contended that allowing the depositions to go forward would violate legal doctrines that generally shield legislators from having to answer questions from other branches of government about their actions. If the lawmakers are deposed, they argued, the challengers will be allowed to probe “the very innerworkings of the legislative process, examining the legislators’ thoughts, impressions, and motivations for their legal acts.” They told the justices that there are other ways to examine the legislature’s reasons for enacting the redistricting maps – for example, by looking at the history leading up to the decision and the events surrounding it. And there is “no way to un-ring the bell once they testify,” the lawmakers stressed.
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Recommended Citation: Amy Howe, Justices allow depositions of Texas lawmakers in Voting Rights Act lawsuit, SCOTUSblog (May. 31, 2022, 12:16 PM), https://www.scotusblog.com/2022/05/justices-allow-depositions-of-texas-lawmakers-in-voting-rights-act-lawsuit/
Justices allow depositions of Texas lawmakers in Voting Rights Act lawsuit
By Amy Howe
on May 31, 2022 at 12:16 pm
The Supreme Court on Tuesday morning rejected a request from three Texas lawmakers to put off their depositions in lawsuits seeking to block redistricting legislation in that state. There were no dissents noted from the brief order, which clears the way for the depositions to go forward next month.
The order came in a dispute that arose after the Texas legislature’s October 2021 adoption of new maps for congressional and state elections. Ten different lawsuits followed, filed by individual voters, civil rights groups, and the U.S. Department of Justice, alleging that the maps violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which bars racial discrimination in election policies.
As part of their case before a three-judge district court, the challengers want to depose Texas legislators about the process that led to the new maps and the legislators’ motives in adopting them. The district court denied the legislators’ motion to put the depositions on hold, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit on May 20 turned down a request to postpone the depositions.
Three Republican members of the Texas House of Representatives came to the Supreme Court on May 21, asking the justices to step in. They contended that allowing the depositions to go forward would violate legal doctrines that generally shield legislators from having to answer questions from other branches of government about their actions. If the lawmakers are deposed, they argued, the challengers will be allowed to probe “the very innerworkings of the legislative process, examining the legislators’ thoughts, impressions, and motivations for their legal acts.” They told the justices that there are other ways to examine the legislature’s reasons for enacting the redistricting maps – for example, by looking at the history leading up to the decision and the events surrounding it. And there is “no way to un-ring the bell once they testify,” the lawmakers stressed.
{snip}
Recommended Citation: Amy Howe, Justices allow depositions of Texas lawmakers in Voting Rights Act lawsuit, SCOTUSblog (May. 31, 2022, 12:16 PM), https://www.scotusblog.com/2022/05/justices-allow-depositions-of-texas-lawmakers-in-voting-rights-act-lawsuit/
