UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; )
) CIVIL ACTION No. 06-30123-MAP
)
Plaintiff, )
)
Three Judge Court v. )
)
REQUEST FOR ORAL CITY OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS; )
ARGUMENT et al. )
Defendants. )
______________________________________)
UNITED STATES' MOTION FOR A TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER,
OR IN THE ALTERNATIVE, A PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
Plaintiff, United States of America, pursuant to Rule 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, moves for entry of a temporary restraining order, or in the alternative, entry of a preliminary injunction, enjoining the City of Springfield, the Springfield Election Commission, and the Springfield Election Commissioners (Denise Jordan, Mary Kaufman, Shannon Powers, and John Ramirez, in their official capacity), from conducting any further elections that fail to comply with Sections 203 and 208 of the Voting Rights Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 1973aa-1a, and 42 U.S.C. § 1973aa-6. Specifically, the United States seeks to enjoin Defendants' conduct of elections using policies, practices, procedures, and methods that violate Section 203 and 208 of the Voting Rights Act, until further Order of this Court. The United States further moves for an order authorizing the appointment of federal observers by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, pursuant to Section 3(a) of the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1973a, to enter and observe election procedures pursuant to Section 8 of the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1973f. Specifically, the authorization of federal observers would permit monitoring of election practices and procedures in the City of Springfield to observe whether eligible voters are permitted to vote, whether the City continues to deny bilingual assistance to the majority of its Spanish-speaking voters, and whether persons entitled to receive assistance in voting receive that assistance from the person of their choice. In support of this motion, the United States asserts that: (1) unless enjoined, Defendants will continue to conduct elections in violation of Sections 203 and 208 of the Voting Rights Act; (2) unless Defendants' conduct is enjoined, Hispanic and Spanish-speaking voters in the City of Springfield will suffer irreparable injury; (3) preliminary relief will pose little, if any, hardship or burden on the Defendants; and (4) enjoining Defendants' conduct will serve the public interest. See United States v. Metropolitan Dade County, 815 F. Supp. 1475, 1477 (S.D. Fla. 1993); Air Line Pilots Ass'n, Int'l v. Guildford Transp. Indus., Inc., 399 F.3d 89, 95 (1st Cir. 2005). A single judge may hear the United States' motion for a temporary restraining order. See 28 U.S.C. § 2284(b)(3); Metropolitan Dade County, 815 F. Supp. at 1477 (describing convening of three-judge panel in Section 203 case). However, "[a] single judge shall not . . . hear and determine any application for a preliminary or permanent injunction." See 28 U.S.C. § 2284(b)(3). A three-judge court is therefore necessary to hear Plaintiff's motion, in the alternative, for a preliminary injunction. Due to the impending September 19, 2006 Federal primary election, the United States seeks an expedited hearing on its request for a temporary restraining order, or in the alternative, a preliminary injunction. The United States also requests an evidentiary hearing be held at the same time. In support of this motion, the United States files herewith a Motion for Leave to File a Brief in Excess of Twenty Pages; an accompanying Memorandum of Points and Authorities; and an Index of Evidentiary Materials, including declarations and exhibits in support of this motion. A Proposed Temporary Restraining Order and a Proposed Order Granting the United States' Motion for a Preliminary Injunction accompany this motion. Date: 21st day of August, 2006 Respectfully submitted, WAN J. KIM
Assistant Attorney General MICHAEL J. SULLIVAN
United States Attorney
KAREN GOODWIN
Assistant United States Attorney
1550 Main Street
Springfield, MA 01103 ________/s/________________
JOHN TANNER
Chief, Voting Section
SUSANA LORENZO-GIGUERE
Special Counsel
JOHN "BERT" RUSS
VERONICA SEUNGWON JUNG
Trial Attorneys
United States Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division, Voting Section
950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Room NWB-7254
Washington, D.C. 20530
Phone: (202) 305-0688
Fax:(202) 307-3961
john.russ@usdoj.gov
veronica.jung@usdoj.gov
CERTIFICATION UNDER L.R. 7.1
I certify that in accordance with Local Rule 7.1, counsel for the United States has met with counsel for Defendants in a good faith attempt to resolve the issues addressed in this motion. My co-counsel John "Bert" Russ and I met with counsel for Defendants on July 19 in an attempt to resolve all issues in this matter, two weeks before we filed the present lawsuit on August 2. Either Mr. Russ and/or myself met with Defendants seven additional times face-to-face between July 20 and August 15. We also spoke by phone on several other occasions to discuss these same issues during that same time. We also provided Defendants with six drafts of a court order to resolve all issues in this case, with the five later drafts reflecting changes requested by Defendants. The parties were ultimately unsuccessful in resolving the issues in this case and this motion.
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that this document(s) filed through the ECF system will be sent electronically to the registered participants as identified on the Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF) and paper copies will be sent to those indicated as non-registered participants.
August 21, 2006
________/s/___________________
VERONICA SEUNGWON JUNG
Voting Section, Trial Attorney >
U.S. Department
of Justice
