The Texas Attorney General’s Office today filed a reply brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in State of Texas v. Wendy Davis, et al., arguing that the attorneys’ fees awarded to certain parties who challenged Texas’ redistricting maps are unconstitutional based on the Court’s 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder. The state is asking the Court to grant certiorari in the case and reverse the lower court decision.
“The district court had no authority to award attorneys’ fees under a law that was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court nearly a full year prior,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said. “As numerous courts have recognized, opinions by the highest court in the land take effect the moment they are handed down from the bench. As such, the fee order by the lower court should be reversed.”