Correspondence from Pamela Karlan to Gilbert Ganucheau (Clerk) Re: Chisom v. Edwards

Public Court Documents
November 12, 1987

Cite this item
Correspondence from Pamela Karlan to Gilbert Ganucheau (Clerk) Re: Chisom v. Edwards preview

Cite this item

  • Legal Department General, Lani Guinier Correspondence. Correspondence from Pamela Karlan to Gilbert Ganucheau (Clerk) Re: Chisom v. Edwards, 1987. a00c6939-eb92-ee11-be37-6045bdeb8873. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/87124893-70d0-4d28-b80d-dd31d2035500/correspondence-from-pamela-karlan-to-gilbert-ganucheau-clerk-re-chisom-v-edwards. Accessed December 02, 2025.

    Copied!

    o

November L2, L987

Hon. Gilbert
Clerk

F. Ganucheau

United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit
600 Camp Street
New Orleans, LA 70130

Re: No. 87-3463, Chisom v. Edwards

Dear Mr. Ganucheau:

I represent appellants in this case. I am writing pursuant
to F.R.A.P. 28(j). fn appellants, brief , dt pages 7-B and 22-23,
we argue that the nature of the judicial function is irrelevant
to the questlon whether section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of
1955r ds amended, 42 U.S.C. S 1973, applies to the election ofjudges. Last week, in Dillard v. Crenshaw County, Alabama, No.
86-7799 (l1th Cir. Nov. 2, L987), the Court of Appeals for the
Eleventh Circuit held:

ttNowhere in the langruage of Section 2 nor in the
legislative history does Congress condition the
appticability of S6ction 2 oi ttre function performed by
an elected official. The language is only and
uncompronisingly premised on the fact of election....
Once a post is open to the electorate, and if it is
shown that the context of that election creates a
discrimi.natory but corrigible election practice, it
must be open in a way that allows racial groups to
participate equally.

SIip op. at 358 (footnote onitted).
I have enclosed Eix copies of the opinion for the Courtrs

convenience, and have provided copies to opposing counsel as
weII.

,ffi-b;,G,tq*
Counsel for Plaintiffs-
Appellants

cc: A11 counsel

NINETY NINE HUDSON STREET, 16th FLOOR (212) 219-1900 NEW YORK, N.Y. 10013

Copyright notice

© NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.

This collection and the tools to navigate it (the “Collection”) are available to the public for general educational and research purposes, as well as to preserve and contextualize the history of the content and materials it contains (the “Materials”). Like other archival collections, such as those found in libraries, LDF owns the physical source Materials that have been digitized for the Collection; however, LDF does not own the underlying copyright or other rights in all items and there are limits on how you can use the Materials. By accessing and using the Material, you acknowledge your agreement to the Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Materials.

Additional info

To the extent that LDF includes information about the Materials’ origins or ownership or provides summaries or transcripts of original source Materials, LDF does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy of such information, transcripts or summaries, and shall not be responsible for any inaccuracies.