BHDA Attorneys Bob Heath and Gunnar Seaquist, working with Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan, have filed an amicus brief on behalf of Harris County in one of the most important cases on this year’s Supreme Court docket.
The case challenges the virtually universal practice of drawing state legislative and local government districts to be balanced in terms of total population — a metric that includes persons, such as children and non-citizens — who are not eligible to vote. The Harris County brief defends the constitutionality of the existing practice — i.e., balancing districts on the basis of population rather than eligible voters — and focuses on the Court’s past precedents and a historical analysis of the enactment of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Harris County is joined by the State of Texas and the United States, as well as several other friends of the court in defending the constitutionality of the current practice.
To read the full brief, follow the link below: