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13aAPPENDIX D — MEMORANDUM Appendix D OPINION ANDORDER OF THE UNITED STATES DISTRICTCOURT, N.D. TEXAS, DALLAS DIVISION,DATED JULY 15, 2009United States District Court,N.D. Texas,Dallas Division.No. 3:07-CV-01850-P.July 15, 2009.Manuel A. BENAVIDEZ,v.Plaintiff,The CITY OF IRVING, TEXAS and Herbert A. Gears,Thomas D. Spink, Elizabeth (Beth) Van Duyne, AllanE. Meagher, Lewis Patrick, Rose Cannady,Rick Stopper, Sam Smith, and Joe Phillip,in their official capacities,Defendants.MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDERJORGE A. SOLIS, District Judge.On November 6, 2007, Manuel A. Benavidez(“Plaintiff”) brought this suit against the City of Irving(“City” or “Irving”), its mayor, and its city council members(collectively, “Defendants”), challenging the legality of
14aAppendix DIrving’s at-large electoral system under Section 2 of theVoting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1973. Plaintiff maintainsthat Irving’s at-large electoral system has the effect ofdiluting the voting power of Irving’s Hispanic voters, andthus denies them the opportunity to elect representativesof their choice. (Am. Compl. 8.) Plaintiff requests thatthis Court enjoin Irving from holding elections under thepresent at-large system, and order the implementation ofa plan to remedy the alleged Section 2 violations. (Id. at 9.)After the Court denied Defendants’ Motion for SummaryJudgment on Plaintiff’s standing to bring this action, theparties proceeded to a four day bench trial that concludedon February 20, 2009. This Order sets forth the Court’sfindings of fact and conclusions of law pursuant to FederalRule of Civil Procedure 52(a). 1I. BACKGROUNDA. The PartiesThe 2000 Census reported that Irving had a populationof 191,613, of whom 143,395 were of voting age. (JointPretrial Order 31.) Hispanics made up 31.2% of the City’spopulation and 27.2% of the voting-age population. (Id.)The 2006 American Community Survey (“ACS”) reflectsan increase in the Hispanic population of Irving to 41.7%and 37.9% of the voting-age population. (Def.’s Ex. 1, at8.) Highway 183 divides the northern and southern halves1. Any finding of fact that is more properly construed as aconclusion of law shall be so construed. Likewise, any conclusionof law that is more properly construed as a finding of fact shallbe so construed.
Page 3 and 4:
iiPARTIES TO THE PROCEEDINGAND RULE
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ivTable of ContentsPageREASONS FOR
Page 11: xCited AuthoritiesStatutes and Othe
Page 14 and 15: 1PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARIP
Page 16 and 17: 3The Court should grant the petitio
Page 18 and 19: 5has “an obligation to explain to
Page 20 and 21: 7because the City has substantially
Page 22 and 23: 9City of IrvingPopulation, Voting A
Page 24 and 25: 11The district court granted summar
Page 26 and 27: 13I. This Petition Presents An Impo
Page 28 and 29: 15First, the issue has increasingly
Page 30 and 31: 17wards had far more eligible voter
Page 32 and 33: 19or practice, they cannot claim to
Page 34 and 35: 21This case—in which the choice b
Page 36 and 37: 23two, five, or ten, or one-half.
Page 38 and 39: 25In Chen, the Fifth Circuit reache
Page 40: 27Importantly, then, the Fourteenth
Page 43 and 44: 30Tennessee voters’ dilution chal
Page 45 and 46: 32Under the Plan, as noted above, D
Page 47 and 48: 34slightly larger than 9.9%—prese
Page 49 and 50: 1aAppendix AAPPENDIX
Page 51 and 52: 2aAppendix APER CURIAM: *This case
Page 53 and 54: 4aAPPENDIX B — Appendix MEMORANDU
Page 55 and 56: 6aAppendix Bpopulation numbers are
Page 57 and 58: 8aAppendix Bwhich total population
Page 59 and 60: 10aAppendix Bthe court does acknowl
Page 61: 12aAppendix CON PETITION FOR REHEAR
Page 65 and 66: 16aAppendix Dother things, the at-l
Page 67 and 68: 18aAppendix DThornburg v. Gingles,
Page 69 and 70: 20aAppendix Dfailed to establish a
Page 71 and 72: 22aAppendix Dcomplying with the Gin
Page 73 and 74: 24aAppendix Done-hundred percent co
Page 75 and 76: 26aAppendix Dhis opinion that would
Page 77 and 78: 28aAppendix Dto estimate the 2008 H
Page 79 and 80: 30aAppendix Dvotes of Hispanics hav
Page 81 and 82: 32aAppendix Daverage household size
Page 83 and 84: 34aAppendix DDr. Rives attempts to
Page 85 and 86: 36aAppendix Dwith sampling error ac
Page 87 and 88: 38aAppendix DIn his expert report,
Page 89 and 90: 40aAppendix DAs Dr. Rives pointed o
Page 91 and 92: 42aAppendix DC. Gingles II & III-Ra
Page 93 and 94: 44aAppendix Dthis methodology canno
Page 95 and 96: 46aAppendix Dthat the confidence th
Page 97 and 98: 48aAppendix Dto Dr. Alford’s hypo
Page 99 and 100: 50aAppendix DD. Totality of the Cir
Page 101 and 102: 52aAppendix DThe Court concludes th
Page 103 and 104: 54aAppendix DNotably, James Dickens
Page 105 and 106: 56aAppendix D1231, 1245-46, 173 L.E
Page 107 and 108: 58aAppendix D2. Proof of Changed De
Page 109 and 110: 60aAppendix DPlaintiff has not empl
Page 111 and 112: 62aAppendix Dthe way in which the v
Page 113 and 114:
64aAppendix Dthe requirement that t
Page 115 and 116:
66aAPPENDIX E — RELEVANT Appendix
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68aAppendix Eof insurrection or reb
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