Introducing two IJ attorneys from Texas, Arif Panju and Christie Hebert, who discuss two Texan cases from the Fifth Circuit. Arif explains why some voting rights groups lacked standing to challenge changes to Texas' voting laws. Christie tells the story of "and" under the First Step Act and how two Fifth Circuit Texan judges strongly disagree.
Voting rights groups in Texas were denied standing to challenge changes to the state's voting laws, even though the new rules seemed problematic.
A case in the Fifth Circuit analyzed the interpretation of 'and' in the First Step Act's safety valve provision, with differing opinions on whether the criminal history criteria should be read conjunctively or disjunctively.
Deep dives
Case summary: Texas state LULAC versus Elphont
Texas state LULAC and Voto Latino challenged Texas' revised requirements for voter residency. The dispute arose when the Texas legislature passed SB 1111, which included a provision requiring individuals with registration forms that didn't correspond to a physical address to provide documentation of a residential address in Texas. The district court upheld the law but struck down the PO box provision. LULAC and Voto Latino appealed to the Fifth Circuit and argued for organizational standing, claiming that the law diverted resources and chilled speech. The court disagreed and found that the plaintiffs failed to establish a direct link between the diversion of resources specifically to SB 1111 and the chilling of speech. As a result, they were denied standing.
Case summary: Interpreting 'and' in the first step act
The case examined the interpretation of 'and' in the first step act's safety valve provision. The provision allows courts to deviate from mandatory minimum sentences if certain criteria are met. The dispute revolves around whether the criminal history portion of the provision should be read conjunctively or disjunctively. The Fifth Circuit, siding with the government, concluded that any one of the three criminal history criteria would disqualify a defendant from safety valve relief. Judge Willett dissented, arguing for conjunctive interpretation, while Judge Oldham concurred, highlighting the importance of contextual analysis in textualist interpretation. This case might have implications for future debates on statutory interpretation.
Everything’s big in Texas. Including that famous English conjunction “and.” For the first time on Short Circuit we have two IJ attorneys based in the Lone Star State on the same episode, Arif Panju and Christie Hebert. They introduce us to two Texan cases from the Texas-dominated Fifth Circuit. First, Arif explains why some voting rights groups didn’t have standing to challenge a few changes to the state’s voting laws even though the new rules seem to have problems. Then, Christie tells the story of “and” under the First Step Act and how two Fifth Circuit Texan judges can disagree so strongly. Further, William Travis—and the em dash—make appearances.