Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One ("NAMUDNO") v. Holder

Status
Closed
Updated
Issues
Voting and Elections

At a Glance

A small utility district near Austin unsuccessfully challenged the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which required the Department of Justice or the United States District Court for D.C. to approve all voting changes in certain jurisdictions before those changes could go into effect... Back to top

About this Case

A small utility district near Austin unsuccessfully challenged the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which required the Department of Justice or the United States District Court for D.C. to approve all voting changes in certain jurisdictions before those changes could go into effect.  After a three-judge district court upheld Section 5’s constitutionality, the United States Supreme Court, by a vote of 8-1, avoided the constitutional issue entirely, holding instead as a matter of statutory interpretation that the utility district was eligible to escape (“bail out”) from the requirements of Section 5.  Although leaving the constitutional issue for another day, the Court did express strong reservations about the continued constitutionality of Section 5, particularly given its applicability to some jurisdictions but not others. 

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Documents

Supreme Court

Decision

Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Supreme Court’s decision

Document

Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Brief on Behalf of the Pacific Legal Foundation, et al.
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Appellant's Reply Brief
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Amicus brief filed on behalf of Alaska Native Voters and Tribes
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Amicus brief by the Constitutional Accountability Center
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Amicus brief on behalf of former DOJ officials
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Amicus brief on behalf of Representatives Conyers, Sensenbrenner, Watt, and Nadler and former Representative Chabot
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Amicus brief on behalf of members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Hispanic Caucus and Asian Pacific American Caucus
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Amicus brief for covered jurisdictions of North California, Arizona, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, and New York
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Amicus brief by the Asian American Justice Center et al.
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Amicus brief by 44 members of the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Amicus brief by the Brennan Center for Justice
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Amicus brief by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights et al.
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Amicus brief by Travis County
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Amicus brief on behalf of Rodney and Nicole Louis, Angie Garcia, Lisa and David Diaz, and People for the American Way et al.
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Amicus brief by the American Bar Association
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Amicus brief by the NAACP Texas State Chapter, et al.
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Amicus brief by Julius Chambers et al.
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Amicus brief by Congressman John Lewis
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Brief on behalf of the Federal Appellee
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Amicus brief by the Navajo Nation et al.
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Brief filed by the CLC on behalf of former Republican officeholders
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Amicus brief on behalf of the Goldwater Institute
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Amicus brief filed by Howard School of Law Civil Rights Clinic
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Amicus brief by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Amicus brief by Nathaniel Persily, et al.
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Amicus brief by Governor Riley of Alabama
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Amicus brief by Mountain States Legal Foundation
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Amicus brief of Governor Sonny Perdue of Georgia
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Amicus brief on behalf of the Southeastern Legal Foundation
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Amicus brief on behalf of Dr. Abigail Thernstrom and the Former DOJ Officials
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Brief on behalf of the Appellant
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Jurisdictional statement filed by the petitioners (July 7, 2008)
District Court

Decision

Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Gonzales District Court’s opinion (May 30, 2008)

Document

Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Defendant’s memorandum in support of a motion for summary judgment (May 15, 2007)
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Brennan Center's Memorandum in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment (May 15, 2007)
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales:Travis County’s motion for summary judgment with accompanying memorandum (May 15, 2007)
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: MALDEF's memorandum in support of motion for summary judgment (May 15, 2007)
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: NAACP's memorandum in support of motion for summary judgment (May 15, 2007)
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment with memorandum (May 15, 2007)
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Plaintiffs amended complaint (February 1, 2007)
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Plaintiffs motion for leave to file amended complaint (February 1, 2007)
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Complaint reply brief by the Department of Justice (October 16, 2006)
Northwest Austin MUD v. Gonzales: Complaint filed by the Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District seeking bailout from Voting Rights Act (August 4, 2006)
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