February, 03 2011, 12:08pm EDT
Lawyers' Committee Defends Constitutionality of Voting Rights Act in Federal District Court
WASHINGTON
Oral Argument on cross-motions for summary judgment in Shelby County v. Holder
was held on Wednesday, February 2, 2011 in U.S. District Court in
Washington, D.C. before Judge John Bates. This case, challenging the
constitutionality of Section 5 of the landmark Voting Rights Act of
1965, was brought by Shelby County, Alabama. The Lawyers' Committee for
Civil Rights Under Law represents defendant-intervenor Bobby Lee Harris
and presented oral argument in defense of the statute along with the
United States Department of Justice, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF)
and the American Civil Liberties Union.
Lawyers'
Committee Chief Counsel Jon Greenbaum, who presented oral argument,
emphasized that "for the last 45 years, Section 5 has played an
indispensable role in preventing the implementation of new
discriminatory voting changes." He added, "While Judge Bates reserved
decision, we are confident that the Court will carefully and properly
apply the appropriate legal standards and will uphold the
constitutionality of Section 5 of this essential civil rights
legislation."
Section
5 preclearance requires jurisdictions with a history of racial
discrimination in voting to submit proposed voting changes for federal
review before they are enforced to ensure that they are free from
discrimination.
The
Lawyers' Committee filed briefs opposing a motion for summary judgment
by Shelby County seeking summary judgment in favor of the defendants.
The briefs emphasize the authority of Congress to extend Section 5, the
weight that Congress' findings must be given by the Court, and the
extensive legislative record before Congress showing that Section 5 is
needed to prevent racial discrimination in voting.
The Lawyers' Committee is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to enlist the private bar's leadership and resources in combating racial discrimination and the resulting inequality of opportunity - work that continues to be vital today.
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Trump has picked Harmeet Dhillon as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. She has stated that it must be "made unsafe" for hospitals to provide trans care, and frequently shares Libs of TikTok posts. She intends to target trans people in blue states. Subscribe to support my journalism.
[image or embed]
— Erin Reed (@erininthemorning.com) December 10, 2024 at 8:14 AM
Reed continued:
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