U.S. v. Texas

• Citation: 572 F.Supp.2d 726
• Decision Date: 24 July 2008
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 6:71-CV-5281 WWJ.
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, et al., Plaintiff, and LULAC-GI Forum, Plaintiff-Intervenors, v. The State of TEXAS, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Texas

572 F.Supp.2d 726

UNITED STATES of America, et al., Plaintiff, and LULAC-GI Forum, Plaintiff-Intervenors, v. The State of TEXAS, et al., Defendants.

Civil Action No. 6:71-CV-5281 WWJ.

United States District Court, E.D. Texas, Tyler Division.

July 24, 2008.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Andrew Ryan Cogar, U.S. Dept. of Justice, Washington, DC, for Plaintiff.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

WILLIAM WAYNE JUSTICE, Senior District Judge.

Before the Court for consideration is Intervenors', GI Forum's and the League of Latin American Citizens' (LULAC), Motion to Amend Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law and to Alter or Amend Judgment in the above numbered and styled civil action pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 52(b) and 59(e). (Docket No. 730.) The Court entered its Memorandum Opinion and Judgment on July 30, 2007. (Docket No. 729,) Intervenors' timely filed their motion on August 13, 2007. Intervenors claim that the Court committed manifest errors of law and fact by "(1) concluding that, under the EEOA, the failure of language programs for LEP students at the secondary level can be ignored ... if language programs at the elementary level demonstrate success ... (2) determining that [Intervenors] bear the burden of identifying [alternative] evaluation ....," and (3) the blanket claim that the Court committed manifest errors of law and fact by "denying all relief entitled to Plaintiff-Intervenors under the EEOA...." (Intvs.' Mot. Amend 4.)

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52(b) provides that "[o]n a party's motion filed no later than 10 days after the entry of judgment, the court may amend its findings—or make additional findings—and may amend the judgment accordingly." Rule 59(e) provides that "[a] motion to alter or amend a judgment must be filed no later than 10 days after the entry of the judgment." The purpose of both Rule 52(b) and Rule 59(e) is to allow courts to "correct manifest errors of law or fact." Templet v. HydroChem, Inc., 367 F.3d 473, 479 (5th Cir.2004) (addressing Rule 59(e)); Fontenot v. Mesa Petroleum Co., 791 F.2d 1207, 1219 (5th Cir.1986) (addressing Rule 52(b)).

Under Rule 52(b), rulings on motions to amend findings are committed to the sound discretion of the district court. 9 James Wm. Moore et al., Moore's Federal Practice § 52.60[2] (3d ed.2000); 9C Charles Alan Wright and Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2582 (3d ed.1998). "[A] party may move to amend the findings of fact even if the modified or additional findings in effect reverse the judgment. `If the trial court has entered an erroneous judgment, it should correct it.'" Fontenot, 791 F.2d at 1219 (quoting 5A James Wm. Moore et al., Moore's Federal Practice ¶ 52.11 (2d ed.1985)). This directive to correct erroneous judgments appears particularly clear where, as here, the parties have not contributed to the court's error. See Templet, 367 F.3d at 479 (cautioning against granting motions to amend based upon evidence available at trial but not proffered, relitigation of old issues, or to secure a rehearing on the merits); Fontenot, 791 F.2d at 1219 (same). The Court GRANTS the motion in order to correct its erroneous judgment, which was based upon manifest errors of law and fact. In the exercise of its discretion and for purposes of judicial economy, the Court also reviews and amends the clear and manifest errors in its findings of fact and conclusions of law that relate to the Court's Modified Order, which were not challenged in Intervenors' Motion to Amend. Golden Blount, Inc. v. Robert H. Peterson Co., 438 F.3d 1354, 1358 (Fed.Cir.2006) (holding that "a Rule 52(b) motion provides the district court discretion to amend any of its own findings"); 9 James Wm. Moore et al., Moore's Federal Practice § 52.60[2] (3d ed. 2000) ("The court, in the exercise of its discretion, may also review and amend, any of its own findings and conclusions.")

Regarding Rule 59(e), a district court has considerable discretion to alter or amend a judgment but not limitless discretion. Templet, 367 F.3d at 479. In determining whether to grant a Rule 59(e) motion, a court must strike the proper balance between the need to bring litigation to an end and the need to render just decisions on the basis of all the facts. Id. As new persuasive authority demonstrates a clear and manifest error of law in integral conclusions of the Court, and as the Court committed other clear and manifest errors in its conclusions of law and findings of fact, the Court finds that the need to render a just decision on the basis of all the facts vastly outweighs the momentary delay in concluding the litigation before this Court. Accordingly, the Court GRANTS the motion in order to correct clear and manifest errors of law and fact upon which the judgment is based. 11 Charles Alan Wright, Arthur R. Miller and Mary Kay Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2810.1 (stating that one ground on which a Rule 59(e) motion may be granted is if it is "necessary to correct manifest errors of law or fact upon which the judgment is based").

To conform to the opinion set out below, the Court amends its findings of fact and conclusions of law and alters its judgment. For the sake of clarity, no portion of the previous July 30, 2007 Memorandum Opinion and the Order attached therewith has been retained; the previous opinion and order are, in effect, vacated in full. After reconsidering all of the evidence, arguments, and briefs, the Intervenors' Motion for Further Relief and the United States of America's request for relief are GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.

I. Procedural Posture

The complex factual and procedural background of this case begins thirty-seven years ago, with a suit filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. That action involved nine all-black school districts located in northeastern Texas and resulted in a comprehensive order directed to the Texas Education Agency ("TEA"), concerning its responsibilities with regard to all Texas school districts. The Court entered a permanent injunctive order and retained jurisdiction over TEA and thereby, indirectly, over the Texas public education system. See United States v. Texas, 321 F.Supp. 1043 (E.D.Tex.1970), aff'd as modified, 447 F.2d 441 (5th Cir.1971).

The Court crafted the injunctive order to ensure that "no child w[ould] be effectively denied equal educational opportunities on account of race, color or national origin." Id. at 1056. The original injunctive order was modified by this Court, United States v. Texas, 330 F.Supp. 235 (E.D.Tex.1971), and later by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, United States v. Texas, 447 F.2d 441 (5th Cir.1971). The original injunctive order as modified will be referred to herein as the "Modified Order."

Section G of the Modified Order, entitled "Curriculum and Compensatory Education," provides that the State of Texas, the TEA, its officers, agents, and employees:

(1) ... shall [ensure] that school districts are providing equal education opportunities in all schools. The [TEA] through its consulting facilities and personnel, shall assist school districts in achieving a comprehensive balance[d] curriculum on all school campuses....

* * *

(2) [TEA] shall institute a study of the educational needs of minority children in order to [ensure] equal educational opportunities of all students. The [TEA] shall request the assistance of the United States Office of Education and any other educational experts whom they choose to consult in making this study.... [A] report on this study shall be filed by the [TEA] with the Court including:

(A) Recommendations of specific curricular offerings and programs which will [ensure] equal educational opportunities for all students regardless of race, color, or national origin. These curricular offerings and programs shall include specific educational programs designed to compensate minority group children for unequal educational opportunities resulting from past or present racial and ethnic isolation, as well as programs and curriculum designed to meet the special educational needs of students whose primary language is other than English ....

A. 1981 Intervention

In 1975, Plaintiff-Intervenors GI Forum and LULAC filed a Motion to Enforce Decree and for Supplemental Relief under the Modified Order, seeking to address denials of equal education opportunity to Mexican-American students in Texas public schools. United States v. Texas (LLAC), 506 F.Supp. 405, 410 (E.D.Tex. 1981). That motion asserted the following bases for relief: Section G of the Modified Order, Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act ("EEOA"), 20 U.S.C. § 1703(f). Id. In their demand for relief, Intervenors called for TEA to implement a plan that would provide all limited English proficiency ("LEP") students with bilingual instruction and compensatory programs to overcome the effects of past discrimination. Id. The United States also moved for enforcement of section G and for similar, but not identical, supplemental relief. Id.

The Court held that the Defendants had violated the Equal Protection Clause and section 1703(f) of the EEOA by failing to take appropriate action to address the language barriers of LEP students and by failing to remove the disabling vestiges of past de jure discrimination against Mexican-American students. Texas (LULAC), 506 F.Supp. at 428-34. The Court issued a remedial decree compelling Texas to take affirmative steps to remedy the EEOA and equal protection violations. Id.

However, the Court found that because no evidence of purposeful discrimination was present, Defendants had not violated Title VI. Id. at 431. The Court also found no violation of Section G of the Modified Order, explaining that the comprehensive bilingual program...