CASE STUDIES IN EMERGENCY ELECTION LITIGATION

Federal Judicial Center 9/5/2023 1

Elimination of a Constable Precinct 

Rodriguez v. Bexar County (H.F. Garcia 

and William Wayne Justice, W.D. Tex. 5:01-cv-1049) 

A district judge issued a temporary injunction against the redistricting of precincts for justices of the peace and constables, eliminating 

one of the five precincts, without preclearance pursuant to section 5 

of the Voting Rights Act. After the county obtained preclearance, the 

judge found Hispanic vote dilution in violation of section 2 of the 

Voting Rights Act, but the court of appeals reversed the nullification 

of an election to the new precincts. 

Subject: District lines. Topics: Section 5 preclearance; section 2 

discrimination; enjoining elections; three-judge court; case 

assignment. 

On November 21, 2001, two days after a complaint and motion were filed, 

Western District of Texas Judge H.F. Garcia issued a temporary restraining 

order against Bexar County’s elimination of a precinct for justices of the peace 

and constables because the county, which includes San Antonio, had not received preclearance for the change pursuant to section 5 of the Voting Rights 

Act.1

 On the same day, Judge Garcia transferred the case to Judge William 

Wayne Justice.2 Judge Garcia died on January 16, 2002.3

On December 19, 2001, Judge Justice denied a motion to dismiss for lack 

of standing the admittedly otherwise meritorious section 5 claim.4 That same 

day, the circuit’s chief judge named Circuit Judge Fortunato P. Benavides and 

District Judge Edward C. Prado to join Judge Justice as a three-judge district 

court to hear the section 5 claims.5 Section 5 claims became moot, however, 

when preclearance was granted on May 15, 2002.6 The three-judge court was 

1. Temporary Restraining Order, Rodriguez v. Bexar County, No. 5:01-cv-1049 (W.D. Tex. 

Nov. 21, 2001), D.E. 3; see Docket Sheet, id. (Nov. 19, 2001) [hereinafter Rodriguez Docket 

Sheet] (D.E. 1, 2); Voting Rights Act of 1965, Pub. L. No. 89-110, § 5, 79 Stat. 437, 439, as 

amended, 52 U.S.C. § 10304 (requiring preclearance of changes to voting procedures in jurisdictions with a certified history of discrimination and requiring that preclearance disputes be 

heard by a three-judge district court); see also Tom Bower, JP Redistricting Takes Court Hit, 

San Antonio Express-News, Nov. 22, 2001, at 3B. 

“The major changes effected by the 001 redistricting plan were the reduction of the number of precincts from five to four, and the elimination of one constable position.” Rodriguez 

v. Bexar County, 385 F.3d 853, 858 (5th Cir. 2004). 

2. Order, Rodriguez, No. 5:01-cv-1049 (W.D. Tex. Nov. 21, 2001), D.E. 4. 

Judge Justice died on October 13, 2009. Federal Judicial Center Biographical Directory of 

Article III Federal Judges [hereinafter FJC Biographical Directory], www.fjc.gov/history/ 

judges. 

3. FJC Biographical Directory, supra note 2. 

4. Order, Rodriguez, No. 5:01-cv-1049 (W.D. Tex. Dec. 19, 2001), D.E. 17. 

5. Order, id. (Dec. 19, 2001), D.E. 18. 

Judge Prado was elevated to the court of appeals on May 5, 2003, and he retired on April 

2, 2018; Judge Benavides died on May 5, 2023. FJC Biographical Directory, supra note 2. 

6. Order, Rodriguez, No. 5:01-cv-1049 (W.D. Tex. July 19, 2002), D.E. 54; see Rodriguez, 
Elimination of a Constable Precinct 

2 Federal Judicial Center 9/5/2023 

designated again on September 23 following the filing of amended complaints.7

As 2002 elections approached, Judge Justice denied the plaintiffs a temporary restraining order on October 2, finding no showing that claims could not 

be remedied after a trial on the merits.8 On April 14, 2003, the three-judge 

court concluded that the county’s nullification of old-plan primary elections 

in 2002 following preclearance of the new plan did not invalidate later general 

election results.9

In an opinion signed on August 15, 2003, Judge Justice found that the 2001 

redistricting violated the proscription against Hispanic vote dilution in section 

2 of the Voting Rights Act.10 On September 26, Judge Justice nullified the 2002 

election results and ordered the county to reinstate the fifth justice-of-thepeace-and-constable precinct.11

On October 6, the court of appeals granted the county a stay of Judge Justice’s remedy,12 and it reversed the section 2 ruling on September 17, 2004.13

385 F.3d at 859; see also Tom Bower, Redistricting Plans OK’d, San Antonio Express-News, 

May 18, 2002, at 2B. 

7. Order, Rodriguez, No. 5:01-cv-1049 (W.D. Tex. Sept. 23, 2002), D.E. 86; see Rodriguez

Docket Sheet, supra note 1 (Fourth Amended Complaint, D.E. 55; Fifth Amended Complaint, 

D.E. 61). 

8. Order, Rodriguez, No. 5:01-cv-1049 (W.D. Tex. Oct. 2, 2002), D.E. 94; see Order, id.

(Oct. 7, 2002), D.E. 97 (denying reconsideration). 

9. Opinion, id. (Apr. 14, 2003), D.E. 168, aff’d, 540 U.S. 1099 (2004). 

10. Opinion, id. (Aug. 19, 2003), D.E. 187, rev’d, 385 F.3d 853; see Voting Rights Act of 

1965, Pub. L. No. 89-110, § 2, 79 Stat. 437, 437, as amended, 52 U.S.C. § 10301; see also Tom 

Bower, JP Remap Ruled Illegal, San Antonio Express-News, Aug. 22, 2003, at 1B. 

11. Opinion, Rodriguez, No. 5:01-cv-1049 (W.D. Tex. Sept. 26, 2003), D.E. 203, rev’d, 385 

F.3d 853; see Tom Bower, Judge Voids Election of Constables, JPs, San Antonio Express-News, 

Sept. 27, 2003, at 1A. 

12. Order, Rodriguez v. Bexar County, No. 03-51119 (5th Cir. Oct. 6, 2003), filed as Order, 

Rodriguez, No. 5:01-cv-1049 (W.D. Tex. Oct. 6, 2003), D.E. 212; see Maro Robbins, Bexar 

County Precinct Tiff Put on Hold, San Antonio Express-News, Oct. 7, 2003, at 1B. 

13. Rodriguez, 385 F.3d 853; see Guillermo Contreras, Appeals Court Clears Bexar of Bias 

Charge, San Antonio Express-News, Sept. 21, 2004, at 1A.