TX State Sen. Wendy Davis Wins Lawsuit Against Racist GOP Redistricting Plan

[Coyotl]

Sorry if this is a dupe, but I have not seen it on DU yet. Found it via dKos.
[link:http://lonestarproject.net/federal-district-court-declares-wendy-davis-plaintiffs-“prevailing-party”|
TX State Sen. Wendy Davis Wins Lawsuit Against Racist GOP Redistricting Plan ]
Sep 04, 2013 -

Federal District Court Declares Wendy Davis, Plaintiffs “Prevailing Party”
Court’s ruling makes clear that Abbott has lost Senate redistricting case

Earlier today, the three-judge Federal District Court in San Antonio handling the Texas redistricting litigation entered a final judgment in the Texas State Senate redistricting law suit. In its ruling, the Court made clear that Wendy Davis and her fellow plaintiffs in the case won and Greg Abbott, representing the Republican state leadership, lost.

The order in part reads,

“It is further ORDERED, ADJUDGED and DECREED:
that because (1) Plan S148 has been repealed, (2) Plaintiffs agree that Plan S172 does not violate the Voting Rights Act or the Constitution, and (3) Plaintiffs do not seek any further relief with regard to Plan S148, Plaintiffs’ remaining claims under § 2 of the Voting Rights Act and the Constitution are DISMISSED AS MOOT; and that, as prevailing parties, [emphasis added] Plaintiffs are awarded their reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.” (Court’s order can be seen here)

Greg Abbott served as the primary legal counsel to the State of Texas during the consideration of redistricting by the Legislature and defended the State’s redistricting plans in federal court. His efforts in redistricting have been nothing short of an embarrassing debacle

Abbott advised the Legislature to configure and adopt redistricting plans that the federal courts ruled to be in violation of the US Voting Rights Act. Two of the three redistricting plans were ruled to be drawn with discriminatory intent. ..........

[NV Whino]

1. Yay!

Wendy Davis is a treasure!

[Politicalboi]

2. Warren/Davis 2016

What a great ticket that would be.

[longship]

3. I sympathize with your enthusiasm but please...

A first term elected Senator, her first elected position, and a state legislator for President/Veep?

They'd be slaughtered at the polls, no matter how bright and all that other stuff.

Plus, I could not support such a ticket in the primaries. Warren has prospects to be an exquisite senator. We need somebody like her in the Senate. For now, at least.

I love Wendy Davis, but she has not yet stood for state-wide office, let alone national office. And you would put her on a national ticket?

It's nice to cheerlead our political heroes. But to trot out putative 2016 presidential tickets every time some Democrat does something we like isn't very realistic, not practical.

Alas, politics moves slowly. It takes decades to turn a party around. Today's Republicans started their turn to insanity in the 1970's. if we want a progressive Democratic Party it isn't going to come from playing fantasy football with the 2016 election. It's going to take hard work from the bottom up.

Progressives need to serve as precinct delegates across the nation NOW! Then, progressives can take over district positions and the state delegations. Once the majority of delegates at the national convention are liberal progressives, maybe then we can claim victory.

If we act now, we may still see that Warren/Davis ticket. But it won't be in 2016.

Political reality isn't like fantasy football.

[Gothmog]

4. Update-5th Cir. slapps down Greg Abbott

This makes me smile http://us7.campaign-archive1.com/?u=824cb3251abbeba9dfdf52496&id=0a92136dd9&e=88f3e58ec1

Earlier today, the 5th Circuit US Court of Appeals granted a motion by attorneys representing Wendy Davis and other plaintiffs to dismiss an appeal filed by Attorney General Greg Abbott regarding attorneys’ fees. The decision by the Appeals Court is another in a series of miscalculations by Greg Abbott, who has lost every single substantive legal argument in his redistricting battle with Davis.

Earlier this year, the three-judge Federal District Court in San Antonio ruled that Senator Davis and fellow plaintiffs are the prevailing parties in the State Senate redistricting case. Following the District Court’s ruling, attorneys for the Davis plaintiffs filed a motion to recover attorney fees and expenses as the prevailing parties. Rather than wait for the District Court to issue a final fee decision, Attorney General Abbott rushed to the 5th Circuit US Appeals Court in an attempt to head off a fee award and somehow reverse the finding of the Davis plaintiffs as the prevailing party.

Abbott’s appeal was doomed from the outset. Precedent that is well known among experienced legal counsel (except apparently within Greg Abbott’s office) makes clear that the US Appeals Court does not have jurisdiction until a fee award is actually made.