The US Supreme Court recently declined to take on a case challenging the controversial Texas voter ID law, SB 14, sending the matter back to the district court. A Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP pro bono team previously drafted an amicus brief on behalf of six of the nation’s most prominent Latino nonprofit organizations in the case in the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Veasey V. Abbott, arguing that the law discriminated against Latino and other minority voters. Milbank associate Gary Crosby also worked on the case, assisting the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) with preliminary research in its preparation of a Brief in Opposition to the Petition for Certiorari, which it presented to the Supreme Court along with other civil rights organizations, such as the Brennan Center and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
Now that the Supreme Court has sent the case back to the Southern District of Texas, the lower court will continue to focus on findings of fact in the matter, including the question of whether SB 14 was passed with the intent to discriminate against the 600,000 registered, and one million eligible, Texas voters who lack one of the limited forms of photo ID the law requires. The next hearing is scheduled for late February. The move has been celebrated by LDF and others as it will “allow the court to re-weigh the evidence” to determine the law’s intent, explains Mr. Crosby.
A first-year associate, Mr. Crosby says he will continue to focus his pro bono efforts on issues of voting rights and education: "Now more than ever, voting rights, education, and other civil rights issues deserve our diligent attention. I plan to continue using my legal research and writing skills to help move justice forward on these important matters.”
