Nor can he invoke the work product doctrine, which products documents prepared for litigation, because calling a special session of the legislature is part of the "ordinary course of business” of a Texas governor. He also said he wasn't sure he could sign into a Dropbox containing redistricting materials.īecause Abbott is a governor and not a state representative, he "cannot invoke…legislative privilege" as he has tried to do, Guaderrama wrote. Like lawmakers, Abbott had asserted various privileges in an effort to avoid complying with subpoenas. In his new order on Wednesday, Guaderrama reached similar conclusions about Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who last year called a special legislative session dedicated to redistricting. The “seriousness" of the lawsuit, which involves allegations of “intentional discrimination” against minority voters, warranted such an order, he said. In a separate order last month, he ruled that Texas lawmakers had "advanced an overbroad conception" of legislative privilege and needed to turn over more documents.
So far, Guaderrama has appeared skeptical of those arguments. They've filed hundreds of pages detailing what they say is "confidential communications" related to redistricting, including documents from decades ago. District Judge David Guaderrama, an Obama appointee, on Wednesday - marks an escalation in disputes over discovery in the case.īecause redistricting in Texas is done by elected lawmakers - not a nonpartisan panel - those lawmakers have argued they have legislative privilege and should not be required to fully comply with discovery orders. Department of Justice, which argued in a filing in November that the consolidated case raised "important questions" about possible violations of the Voting Rights Act. Numerous civil and voting rights groups have joined the suit, which asks for a permanent injunction requiring Texas lawmakers to redraw the maps. In a lawsuit that started last year, the League of United Latin American Citizens and other civil rights groups allege that new Texas congressional maps "unlawfully dilute the voting strength of Latinos." With around 4 million new residents in the 2020 census, Texas is the only state set to gain two new congressional seats. EL PASO, Texas (CN) - A federal judge has ordered Texas Governor Greg Abbott to turn over documents in an ongoing dispute over proposed election maps in Texas - including documents stored online through a Dropbox link.
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