Court Opinion

ID: 9655986
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 19:29:37.250991+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:13:26.071731
License: Public Domain

ROBERT M. HILL, District Judge,
dissenting in part.
I concur as to part I and II of the opinion. I dissent as to part III and would deny the injunctive relief sought in this case. A memorandum opinion setting forth my reasons will be forthcoming.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
ROBERT M. HILL, District Judge.
The following opinion sets forth the reasoning for my dissent from Part III of this court’s Memorandum Opinion and Order of February 20, 1979.
The majority apparently concedes, as it must, that § 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, (“the Act”) 42 U.S.C. § 1973c, does not mandate the injunctive relief sought by plaintiffs. See Berry v. Doles, 438 U.S. 190, 98 S.Ct. 2692, 57 L.Ed.2d 693 (1978). It determines, however, that § 5 of the Act contemplates as the “normal remedy” enjoining elections which have not been precleared in accordance with the Act. The *744majority would depart from the “normal remedy” only if the plaintiff should bring an election eve lawsuit. Because I feel that the majority has applied improper criteria in determining whether to enjoin the Dallas City Council election scheduled for April 7, 1979, and believe that consideration for the proper criteria requires that the election not be enjoined, I dissent.
Before discussing the applicable law, I wish to develop certain facts not emphasized in the memorandum opinion of February 20, 1979, which I believe are highly relevant to the issue of a proper remedy in this case. The city’s current election plan was adjudged constitutional in Lipscomb v. Wise, 399 F.Supp. 782 (N.D.Tex.1975). The Fifth Circuit upheld the constitutionality of the plan, but reversed on the ground that the plan did not comply with strict standards required of a judicial plan. 551 F.2d 1043. The United States Supreme Court reversed, holding that the plan was “legislative” rather than “judicial,” but did not disturb the holding that the plan was constitutional, 437 U.S. 535, 98 S.Ct. 2493, 57 L.Ed.2d 411 (1978). The city held an election under the plan in April of 1975, after the federal district court had declared it to b.e constitutional. Thereafter, on September 23, 1975, § 5 of the Voting Rights Act became applicable to the State of Texas. 40 Fed.Reg. 43746. In April of 1977, the current members of the city council were elected under the plan, which had not been precleared in accordance with § 5 of the Act. The United States Supreme Court, in Wise v. Lipscomb, 437 U.S. 535, 98 S.Ct. 2493, 57 L.Ed. 411 (1978), noted that Texas had become subject to § 5 of the Act while the case was pending on appeal and remanded to the Fifth Circuit for consideration of the impact of the Act on the plan. The city pretermitted the Fifth Circuit’s task on remand by stipulating to the applicability of § 5 of the Act to legislative enactments of the city. On September 5, 1978, the city brought a declaratory action against the United States in federal district court in the District of Columbia seeking preclearance of the eight single-member districts provided for in the plan. The Fifth Circuit entered an order on November 6, 1978, remanding to the district court for further proceedings.
Black and Mexican-Ameriean voters of the city have been permitted to intervene in the declaratory judgment action pending in the federal district court for the District of Columbia. That court recently granted the United States’ request for one month’s additional time in which to conduct discovery.
The filing deadline for the city’s April 7 election of city council members is February 26. There is nothing in the record to support the majority’s finding that candidates have not yet expended time and money in their campaigns. To the contrary, it is reasonable to presume that candidates have already spent time and money preparing for the upcoming election.
Under the plan, council members are elected “for a term of two (2) years.” “The council members so elected shall take office on the first Monday in May succeeding the election, and they shall serve until their respective successor shall have been elected and shall have qualified.” City Charter of the City of Dallas, Chapter III, § 1. The plan further provides:
(a) If more than four (4) vacancies occur on the city council at any one time or if a vacancy occurs on the city council on or before the seventh day of February of an even-numbered year, the vacancy or vacancies shall be filled at a special election for that purpose. At its next regular meeting after the occurrence of the vacancy or vacancies, the city council shall call a special election to be held not less than forty (40) days nor more than sixty (60) days after the date of the call.
(b) If vacancies on the city council do not exceed four (4) and a vacancy occurs subsequent to the seventh day of February of an even-numbered year the vacancy shall be filled by a majority vote of the remaining members of the council.
City Charter of the City of Dallas, Chapter HI, § 5.
In sum, the city has a constitutional election plan under which council members *745were lawfully elected in 1975. In 1977, council members were elected under the plain in violation of § 5 .of the- Act, and in 1979, the city seeks again to hold an election under the plan.
The majority attempts to read into the Act a strong preference where the courts have failed to read a mandate that no election should be held if an approved election may not be held. While the Act has been said to impose “restrictions unique in the history of our country,” Berry v. Doles, supra, 438 U.S. at 200, 98 S.Ct. at 2698, 57 L.Ed.2d at 701 (Powell, J. concurring) it has not been interpreted to require the frustration of the electoral processes in all circumstances where an election plan has not obtained preclearance. See Berry v. Doles, supra; Perkins v. Matthews, 400 U.S. 379, 396-97, 91 S.Ct. 431, 27 L.Ed.2d 476 (1970). Justice Powell has called for the need to bring a measure of common sense to the application of the Act. Berry v. Doles, 438 U.S. at 199, 98 S.Ct. at 2697, 57 L.Ed.2d at 701. Changes in election laws are submitted for approval to the Attorney General at the rate of over 1000 per year. Id. Even a cursory examination of Beer v. United States, 374 F.Supp. 357 (D.D.C.1974) shows that the majority’s hope for a quick disposition of the city's suit seeking approval of the plan is illusory. Beer, supra, was filed by council members of the City of New Orleans on July 25, 1973, and the court, having accelerated the case as far as possible, did not issue an opinion on the merits until May 15, 1974. The City of Dallas’ suit, which seeks approval of the election plan of the seventh largest city of the country, already has shown signs of becoming protracted litigation. Meanwhile, the voters of the city are disenfranchised and city government operates under a cloud, if it operates at all. I do not believe Congress intended this to be the normal result.
The courts have endeavored when possible to fashion remedies under the Act that permit elections to go forward at the scheduled time. See, e. g., Pitts v. Carter, 380 F.Supp. 4, 8 (N.D.Ga.1974) (three-judge court directing single judge to devise plan for conduct of upcoming election). While the very plan before us was under consideration by the Supreme Court, the Court expressed that, pending the submission and clearance of a plan under the Act, “if a State’s electoral processes are not to be completely frustrated, federal courts will at times necessarily be drawn further into the reapportionment process and required to devise and implement- their own plans.” Wise v. Lipscomb, 437 U.S. 535, 98 S.Ct. 2493, 2498, 57 L.Ed.2d 411, 419 (1978). At the very least, this court should have devised a plan so that April 7 election could be held.
Even though courts have, for lack of time or other reasons, declined to devise interim plans for upcoming elections, most have refused to enjoin such elections. E. g., United States v. County Comm’n, Hale Cty., Ala., 425 F.Supp. 433 (S.D.Ala.1976), judg't aff’d, 430 U.S. 924, 97 S.Ct. 1540, 51 L.Ed.2d 768 (1977); Moore v. Leflore Cty. Bd. of Election Comm’rs, 351 F.Supp. 848 (N.D. Miss.1971); Wilson v. North Carolina St. Bd. of Elections, 317 F.Supp. 1299 (M.D.N. C.1970). See also Georgia v. United States, 411 U.S. 526, 541, 93 S.Ct. 1702, 36 L.Ed.2d 472 (1973). In Hale County, supra, the circumstances militated much more in favor of an injunction against an upcoming election than they do in the present case. In that case, Hale County had changed from a single-member to an at-large plan for electing commissioners and had conducted several elections under the plan before suit was filed to enjoin an upcoming election. Even though the court could have ordered an election under the former single member plan, it permitted the election to be held as scheduled under the at-large plan. Since the Supreme Court summarily affirmed Hale County, the majority apparently seeks to distinguish the case on the basis of the timing of the plaintiff’s claim. Where the majority discovered the file date of Hale County on which to base its “timing” distinction I have no idea because it is not mentioned in the three-judge court’s opinion or in the Supreme Court’s summary affirmance. A reading of the cases reveals *746that enjoining an election for an indefinite time until preclearance is obtained is the exceptional remedy rather than the normal one. See City of Richmond, Va. v. United States, 376 F.Supp. 1344, 1351 & n. 39 (D.D. C.1974); Beer, supra.
The Supreme Court considered the issue of appropriate remedies for violations of § 5 of the Act in Perkins, supra. The Perkins court declined to order a new election to displace representatives elected under an unapproved plan and remanded to the district court to fashion an appropriate remedy in light of the circumstances of the case and the “nuances of the local situation.” 400 U.S. at 396-97, 91 S.Ct. 431. The Court recently declined a like invitation in Berry v. Doles, supra. This case calls for even closer scrutiny of the circumstances than Perkins and Doles, because plaintiffs seek to deprive the voters of the city of the right to vote for representatives in city government for an indefinite time. In Perkins and Doles, voters had exercised their right to vote and the burden of a new election under a court ordered plan would fall upon the city government and the candidates rather than upon the voters. Since the Act is ultimately concerned with protection of the right to vote, a court should be even more cautious when asked to postpone indefinitely an election than when asked to order a new election.
I recognize that in Holt v. Richmond, 406 U.S. 903, 92 S.Ct. 1602, 31 L.Ed.2d 814 (1972), three justices of the Supreme Court granted an application to enjoin upcoming city elections under an unapproved plan, even though the incumbents had been illegally elected under the plan. The justices, however, did not consider the discussion of an appropriate remedy in Perkins, supra. Furthermore, a federal district court for the District of Columbia, in denying approval of the plan, remarked that the illegally elected incumbents had continued in office for four years because city elections had been enjoined until that court’s decision, and that, therefore, the incumbents had evaded the intended “freezing effect” of § 5 of the Act. City of Richmond, Va., supra, 376 F.Supp. at 1358. Finally, the full Court later affirmed Hale County, which cannot be read consistently with Holt, supra.
The Supreme Court has not delineated the circumstances which are important in fashioning a remedy under the Act. Since the majority has chosen to rely upon the presumption that an election under an unapproved plan should be enjoined rather than to examine the circumstances of this casé, I now undertake to determine what circumstances a court should take into account in fashioning a remedy under the Act.
I begin with the proposition that a court should enjoin an election under the Act only if to do so would effectuate the purposes of the Act. The Act seeks to prevent political subdivisions from enacting and enforcing new laws which might have a racially discriminatory purpose or effect with regard to voting. Perkins, supra, 400 U.S. 395—96, 91 S.Ct. 431. The mechanics of the Act constrain a political subdivision to police itself by seeking approval of any changes in its election laws from the Attorney General or a federal district court in the District of Columbia. Id. Congress passed the Act in response to evidence that states and subdivisions had circumvented declarations that their election laws were unconstitutional by enacting new unconstitutional laws and enforcing them while their constitutionality was being adjudicated anew.
In light of these purposes, a court should first take into consideration in determining a remedy under the Act the potential which the changed law has for prejudicing the voting rights of racial minorities. See Moore v. Leflore Cty., supra, 351 F.Supp. at 852. Thus, the Court suggested that the “nature of the changes complained of” may be considered in determining an appropriate remedy. Perkins, supra, 400 U.S. at 396, 91 S.Ct. at 441. Second, a court should consider whether a political subdivision has unduly delayed in seeking approval of changes in its election laws. Accordingly, the Supreme Court expressed that the reasonableness of predicting coverage under § 5 of the Act is a factor to be considered in fashion*747ing a remedy. Id. Third, a court should determine whether a political subdivision has evaded constitutional review of its election procedures by changing them.
The consideration deemed crucial by the majority — the timing of plaintiff’s suit— has nothing to do with the purposes of the Act. If timing emerges from the decisions as a factor, it does so only as a consequence of the efforts of courts to avoid enjoining elections. See discussion, supra. Enjoining an election on its eve rather than earlier may impose a heavier burden on the candidates, who will have more spent time and money on their campaigns, and on the political subdivision, which will have expended greater efforts in preparing for the election. It does not impose a heavier burden on the voters, whose interest the Act seeks to protect, because they suffer equally regardless of when the election is enjoined.
Furthermore, even if the timing of plaintiff’s suit is a relevant factor, the facts do not support the majority’s conclusion that plaintiffs did not unduly delay in bringing this suit. Plaintiffs could have filed this suit at any time after September 23, 1975. Instead they chose to file it on February 1, 1979, 25 days before the filing deadline for the April 7 election.
I turn now to the propriety of enjoining the scheduled election in light of the relevant circumstances. I do not perceive how permitting the April 7 election to go forward as scheduled will prejudice the voting rights of racial minorities. Enjoining the upcoming city election merely prolongs the terms of council members elected under the same plan which the city proposes to utilize in the upcoming election. The election will merely change the faces on the city council; it alone will not prejudice black voters. The injunction issued by the majority has the sole practical effect of putting the responsibility for new faces on the council in the hands of the city council, who will appoint replacements for members who choose to resign rather than hold over, and taking it out of the hands of the electorate. The city did not enact the plan to evade constitutional review, but rather, formulated it to pass constitutional muster. The plan’s constitutionality has been affirmed by the Fifth Circuit, a holding left undisturbed by the Supreme Court. Finally, the city has not unduly delayed in seeking preclearance of the plan. It cannot be faulted for not seeking preclearance while the plan’s constitutionality was being reviewed by the Fifth Circuit and after it had been declared illegal by the circuit court. After the Supreme Court reversed the Fifth Circuit and remanded Wise v. Lipscomb, supra, for consideration of the impact of § 5 of the Act on the plan, the city acted with commendable speed in seeking approval of the plan. Without awaiting the decision of the Fifth Circuit on remand, where it stipulated that § 5 of the Act applied to the city’s enactments, it filed suit in federal district court in the District of Columbia for a declaration of the plan’s legality, bypassing submission to the Attorney General.
All the relevant considerations lead to the conclusion that this court should not enjoin the April 7 election. By enjoining the election, this court not only disenfranchises the voters of Dallas but it does untold damage to the city’s government. The acts of city council members whose two year terms will expire on May 7 will arguably have no legal effect. More importantly, the city’s charter provides for a special election if more than four council members resign at any one time. Under the court’s Order, vacancies are to be filled in the manner prescribed by law. Of course any election under the current plan is prohibited. Thus, if the city council resigns en masse, the city would have no government until the court could devise a plan for the holding of special elections. Since the court has retained jurisdiction only for the purpose of rescheduling elections when the city obtains preclearance of its election plan, it may not even have power to devise an interim plan.
I would not enjoin the April 7 election conditional upon the city amending its complaint in the District of Columbia suit to seek preclearance of the entire plan. See Berry v. Doles, supra. Further, I would retain jurisdiction so that if the city became *748dilatory in prosecuting its action seeking preclearance after the April 7 election, the court could devise an interim plan. Alternatively, the court should devise an interim plan under which the April 7 election could be held. The majority feels that indefinitely enjoining the election is the normal remedy required by the Act. Hence, they have blinded themselves to the availability of other remedies and have ignored the circumstances existing in this case which demonstrably weigh in favor of permitting the April 7 election to go forward.