Legal Defense Fund Recognizes Important Civil Rights Victory in Texas Voting Rights Case
NEW YORK, May 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) this afternoon welcomes the victory in a legal challenge to the recently reauthorized core preclearance provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District v Number One v. Mukasey. The case arose when a small utility district in Austin, Texas filed a lawsuit in 2006, just days after President Bush signed the law extending the Act for 25 years. The Section 5 preclearance provision requires that any voting changes proposed by certain jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination in voting be submitted to the Department of Justice or a federal court for approval or preclearance. The Utility District ("MUD") sought to end its responsibility for having its voting changes reviewed but more significantly to have this important provision declared unconstitutional. Today the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia unequivocally rejected the MUD's effort to invalidate the heart of the Voting Rights Act.
"This is one of the most important civil rights cases decided this year. The Voting Rights Act does not stand at the periphery of the nation's long march to greater equality -- it lies at its core. That a small utility district would think that it could take us off the path to political fairness by rehashing previously discredited arguments is unfortunate, but the Court declined that invitation," said John Payton, LDF President and Director-Counsel. The entire state of Texas is covered by Section 5 because of a well-earned reputation for voting discrimination that the Supreme Court again recognized in an opinion just over a year ago. Section 5 works in two ways: it blocks discriminatory voting changes when they are attempted and deters others from the outset.
"The Voting Rights Act is one of Congress's greatest legacies reauthorized after more than ten months of careful study. The preclearance provision remains critical because there is nothing inconsistent with the notion that we have come a long way but that our constitutional promises require us to go further to ensure political equality," said Debo P. Adegbile, LDF Director of Litigation, who argued the case on behalf of Defendant Intervenors represented by the nation's leading voting rights advocates including MALDEF, ACLU, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, PFAW, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, and the law firm of Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale & Dorr.
ABOUT LDF The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) is America's legal counsel on issues of race. Through advocacy and litigation, LDF focuses on issues of education, voter protection, economic justice and criminal justice. We encourage students to embark on careers in the public interest through scholarships and internship programs. LDF pursues racial justice to move our nation toward a society that fulfills the promise of equality for all. CONTACT: Mel Gagarin of NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, +1-212-965-2783 or mgagarin@naacpldf.org First Call Analyst:
CONTACT: Mel Gagarin of NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Web Site: http://www.naacpldf.org/
2008-05-30 16:54:31 0374037 PRNEWSWIRE
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