Wood v. Attorney General of Texas Brief in Opposition of Respondents
Public Court Documents
October 4, 1993
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Brief Collection, LDF Court Filings. Wood v. Attorney General of Texas Brief in Opposition of Respondents, 1993. ca00986c-c99a-ee11-be36-6045bdeb8873. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/de53edae-2b6f-4f72-ae3e-705edd3eabaa/wood-v-attorney-general-of-texas-brief-in-opposition-of-respondents. Accessed December 05, 2025.
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No, 93-871
I n T h e
Supreme Court of tfje Hntteti H>tate£
Oc t o b e r T e r m , 1993
Sharolyn Wood,
Petitioner,
v.
Attorney General of Texas, et al.,
Respondents.
On Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit
BRIEF IN OPPOSITION OF RESPONDENTS LEAGUE OF
LATIN AMERICAN CITIZENS, COUNCIL NO. 4434, et al.
E laine R. Jones
Director-Counsel
Theodore M. Shaw
*Charles Stephen Ralston
Gailon W, McGowen, Jr .
NAACP Legal Defense &
Educational Fund, Inc.
99 Hudson Street
Sixteenth Floor
New York, N.Y. 10013
(212) 219-1900
Sherrilyn A. Ifill
University of Maryland
School of Law
500 W. Baltimore
Baltimore, MD 21201
(410) 706-8391
E. Brice Cunningham
777 S. R.L. Thornton Frwy.
Suite 121
Dallas, TX 75203
(214) 428-3793
Gabrielle K. McDonald
Walker & Satterthwaite
7800 N. Mopac
Suite 215
Austin, Texas 78759
(512) 346-6801
William L. Garrett
Brenda Hull Thompson
8300 Douglas, Suite 800
Dallas, TX 75225 -
(214) 369-1952
Rolando L. Rios
Milam Building, Suite 1024
115 E. Travis Street
San Antonio, TX 78205
(210) 222-2102
E dward B. Cloutman III
Mullinax, Wells, Baab
& Cloutman, P.C.
3301 Elm St.
Dallas, TX 75226
(214) 939-9222
* Counsel of Record
Attorneys for Respondents LULAC, et al.
PRESS OF BYRON S. ADAMS, WASHINGTON, D.C. (202) 347-8203
No. 93-871
IN THE
Supreme Court of tjje Mmteti States
October Term, 1993
Sharolyn Wood,
v.
Petitioner
Attorney General o f Texas, et a l ,
Respondents.
On Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit
BRIEF IN OPPOSITION OF RESPONDENTS LEAGUE OF
LATIN AMERICAN CITIZENS, COUNCIL NO. 4434, et al.
Respondents, Latin American Citizens, Council No.
4434, et al., petitioners in No. 93-630, urge that the cross
petition of Judge Sharolyn Wood be denied even in the event
that this Court grants certiorari in Nos. 93-630 and 93-928.
Simply stated, the cross-petition presents no issue that
is worthy of a grant of certiorari. The petitioner is dissatisfied
with the position that the Attorney General of Texas and other
duly elected state officials have taken in this litigation. The
State officials wish to exercise their legal authority to seek a
settlement; petitioner wants them to fight to the end.
However, the premise upon which the cross-petition is based
—• that a defendant’s decision to settle a case makes the
litigation "collusive" — is wrong.
2
As described in detail in the cross-petition for a writ of
certiorari in No. 93-928, this case has been vigorously defended
by the State all the way to this Court Settlement negotiations
were extensive, and an agreement — subject to a hearing and
approval by the district court — reached that reflected a
careful balancing of the competing interests at stake.
Cases are settled routinely and, as we have pointed out
in the petition for a writ of certiorari in No. 93-630, this Court
has consistently made it clear that settlements are favored
under federal law.1 The fact that the Attorney General has
decided that it is in the best interests of the State of Texas to
settle does not lead to the conclusion that that official has
abandoned his duty to represent the State or allow or even
permit a federal court to make such a judgment.
Finally, if certiorari is granted in No. 93-630 and/or No.
93-928, Judge Wood will have every opportunity to make her
views known on every issue, as she has been able to do at every
stage of the litigation of this case to date.
Conclusion
For the foregoing reasons, the petition for a writ of
certiorari should be denied.
1See, e.g., Evans v. JeffD., 475 U.S. 717 (1986); Marek
v. Chesny, 473 U.S. 1 (1985).
3
Respectfully submitted,
Elaine R. Jones
Director-Counsel
Theodore M. Shaw
* Charles Stephen Ralston
Gailon w . m c Gowen, Jr .
NAACP Legal Defense &
Educational Fund, Inc.
99 Hudson Street
Sixteenth Floor
New York, N.Y. 10013
(212) 219-1900
Sherrilyn A. Ifill
University of Maryland
School of Law
500 W. Baltimore
Baltimore, MD 21201
(410) 706-8391
E. Brice Cunningham
777 S. R.L. Thornton Frwy.
Suite 121
Dallas, TX 75203
(214) 428-3793
Gabrielle K. McDonald
Walker & Satterthwaite
7800 N. Mopac
Suite 215
Austin, Texas 78759
(512) 346-6801
William L. G a r r e t t
Brenda Hull Thompson
8300 Douglas, Suite 800
Dallas, TX 75225
(214) 369-1952
Rolando L. Rios
Milam Building, Suite 1024
115 E. Travis Street
San Antonio, TX 78205
(512) 222-2102
Edward B. Cloutman III
Mullinax, Wells, Baab
& Cloutman, P.C.
3301 Elm St.
Dallas, TX 75226
(214) 939-9222
* Counsel of Record
Attorneys for Respondents LULAC, et al.