Thursday, September 25, 1997
Court upholds ruling in Roscoe discrimination
suit
By ANTHONY WILSON / Abilene Reporter-News
A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court's ruling that
the Roscoe schools' at-large trustee elections do not discriminate
against Hispanics.
In a five-page opinion released Tuesday, the 5th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals affirmed U.S. District Judge Sam Cummings' findings
that the claims of the League of United Latin American Citizens
were groundless.
"There is no discrimination," Chuck Jones, the schools'
attorney, reiterated Wednesday. "That's why the district
defended this to the extent we did. We've been vindicated by the
judicial system."
LULAC lawyer Rolando Rios has not seen the opinion and declined
comment.
Cummings issued his verdict nearly 1-1/2 years ago after presiding
over a four-day-long trial on the matter.
LULAC sued the Roscoe district in 1994 charging, as it has
in scores of lawsuits, that its at-large elections diluted Hispanics'
voting strength and defeated their preferred candidates.
But the appeals court's three-judge panel found LULAC failed
to meet its burden of proof.
The appellate judges didn't quarrel with Cummings' assertions
that LULAC's expert witnesses were "unimpressive" and
their statistical data slight.
"LULAC's able counsel was unable to generate substantial
statistical evidence as compared to many of our vote dilution
cases," their opinion read.
They noted Jose Villafranca had twice won election to the board,
disproving claims that blocs of Anglo voters defeat Mexican-American
candidates.
Cummings' ruling was viewed by many as vindication for Roscoe,
one of the handful of Texas school systems to fight LULAC in court.
Most districts adopted single-member districts or cumulative voting
to avoid costly court fights, leading critics to charge the civil-rights
group with economic blackmail.
Since Roscoe's victory, other schools have contacted Jones
seeking the names of expert witnesses and advice on battling LULAC.
As a result, LULAC has dismissed some of the suits, he said.
"We've encouraged some districts not to surrender to economic
terrorism," Jones said.
The appeals court denied Roscoe's request that LULAC pay the
district's attorneys' fees. It upheld Cummings' order that LULAC
refund Roscoe $6,966 in costs.
Last week, the court returned to Cummings the question of attorneys'
fees for LULAC lawyers in another case filed against the Roscoe
school system. The Lubbock judge awarded only $5,251 of the $58,976
LULAC had sought.
Jones is hoping LULAC won't appeal Tuesday's opinion to the
U.S. Supreme Court.
"We hope this is the end to the entire matter," he
said. "We've both been through enough litigation. The issue
is settled."
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Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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