Westwego Citizens for Better Government v. City of Westwego
| Citation | 872 F.2d 1201 |
| Decision Date | 08 May 1989 |
| Docket Number | No. 87-3761,87-3761 |
| Parties | WESTWEGO CITIZENS FOR BETTER GOVERNMENT, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. CITY OF WESTWEGO, A Municipal Corporation organized pursuant to the laws of the State of Louisiana, et al., Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (5th Circuit) |
M. David Gelfand, Terry E. Allbritton, Alice M. Jacobs, Jacobs, Jernigan & Weiner, and Ronald L. Wilson, New Orleans, La., for plaintiffs-appellants.
Jon A. Gegenheimer, Gretna, La., Gerald Arceneaux, Westwego, La., for defendants-appellees.
Laughlin McDonald, Neil Bradley, William P. Quigley, Gen. Counsel, A.C.L.U., for amicus curiae A.C.L.U.
Pamela S. Karlan, Julius Levonne Chambers, C. Lanie Guinier, N.A.A.C.P. Legal Defense and Ed. Fund, for amicus curiae N.A.A.C.P.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Before THORNBERRY, KING and JONES, Circuit Judges.
Plaintiffs-appellants Westwego Citizens for Better Government appeal from the judgment of the district court dismissing their class-action suit under section 2 et seq. of the Voting Rights Act. For the reasons set forth below, we vacate the judgment of the district court and remand this case for specific findings of fact and conclusions of law.
Westwego is a small city located in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana with a population of 12,663 persons of whom 1,466--or 11.6%--are black. Pursuant to Louisiana's Lawrason Act, Westwego is governed by a mayor and Board of Aldermen. La.Rev.Stat.Ann. Sec. 33:321 et seq. (West 1988). The five aldermen are elected on an at-large basis and also serve as coordinators of five city departments. While there is no prohibition of "bullet" or "single-shot" voting, there is a majority vote requirement. It is apparently undisputed that no black candidate has ever run for the Board of Aldermen.
Plaintiffs 1 filed suit on November 20, 1985 alleging that Westwego's system of electing aldermen on an at-large basis results in the denial or abridgement of black citizens' rights to participate in the political process and to elect candidates of their choice in violation of section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (the "Act"), as amended. Plaintiffs sought to demonstrate, through analyses of recent state and local elections, that the voting patterns of Westwego's voters are so racially polarized that a black candidate could not be elected under the present electoral system. Plaintiffs also sought to demonstrate that Louisiana and Jefferson Parish in particular have a long history of racial discrimination which includes segregation and the imposition of significant barriers to black citizens' right to vote, that the residential areas of the City are still segregated by race, and that there continues to be a significant disparity in the socioeconomic status of black and white residents of the City. Plaintiffs also sought to show that the present city government is not responsive to the concerns of Westwego's black residents.
As a remedy for the allegedly unlawful dilution of minority votes, plaintiffs proposed two districting plans for Westwego--one which would retain the present five- member Board of Aldermen and one which would expand the number of aldermen to six. Both plans would create one district in which black residents would comprise a majority (52.9% under the five-aldermen plan and 59% under the six-aldermen plan).
The trial was initially postponed, pending the Supreme Court's decision in Thornburg v. Gingles, 478 U.S. 30, 106 S.Ct. 2752, 92 L.Ed.2d 25 (1986)--the Court's first case involving the 1982 amendments to section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The Supreme Court issued its decision on June 30, 1986. At the conclusion of a two-day bench trial, the district judge dismissed the case, for reasons stated orally at the close of evidence. Appellants filed a timely notice of appeal, asserting that the district court erred in dismissing the case.
In order to review the district court's judgment, it is essential that we have before us findings of fact and conclusions of law which adequately reflect the bases of the district court's decision. Before we can consider appellants' other claims of error in the district court's decision, we must therefore decide whether we have in this case a sufficient foundation for appellate review.
The district court's factual findings regarding section 2 claims and the ultimate determination of whether vote dilution has occurred are ordinarily subject to the clearly erroneous standard of review. Fed.R.Civ.P. 52(a); Gingles, 478 U.S. at 79, 106 S.Ct. at 2781; Citizens for a Better Gretna v. City of Gretna, 834 F.2d 496, 498 & n. 4 (5th Cir.1987). However, Rule 52(a) also requires that such findings "provide a sufficiently definite predicate for proper appellate review." Curtis v. Commissioner, 623 F.2d 1047, 1051 (5th Cir.1980) (quoting Hydrospace-Challenger, Inc. v. Tracor/MAS, Inc., 520 F.2d 1030, 1034 (5th Cir.1975)). We have stressed repeatedly the special need for detailed findings of fact in vote dilution cases:
Because the resolution of a voting dilution claim requires close analysis of unusually complex factual patterns, and because the decision of such a case has the potential for serious interference with state functions, we have strictly adhered to the rule 52(a) requirements in voting dilution cases and have required district courts to explain with particularity their reasoning and the subsidiary factual conclusions underlying their reasoning.... Perhaps in no other area of the law is as much specificity in reasoning and fact finding required, as shown by our frequent remands of voting dilution cases to district courts.
Velasquez v. City of Abilene, 725 F.2d 1017, 1020 (5th Cir.1984) (quoting Cross v. Baxter, 604 F.2d 875, 879 (5th Cir.1979), vacated on other grounds, 704 F.2d 143 (5th Cir.1983)).
In Velasquez, we found it necessary to remand the case to the district court for further findings because, despite an otherwise long and detailed opinion, the court failed "to take note of substantial contrary evidence." Id. at 1021. 2
In the instant case, the district court dismissed the case without providing written findings of fact or conclusions of law. While Rule 52(a) provides that "[i]t will be sufficient if the findings of fact and conclusions of law are stated orally and recorded in open court following the close of the evidence," the findings must still be sufficiently specific to provide a basis for the judgment and for meaningful appellate review of the decision.
The district court's findings in this case are manifestly inadequate. The district court not only failed "to take note of substantial contrary evidence" as in Velasquez, it also failed to specify on which evidence it relied in support of its conclusions. The district court's findings are stated in a conclusory fashion, with virtually no reference to the evidence presented at trial. While the district court may in fact have evaluated the evidence critically, the court's assessment of the evidence cannot be discerned from the record before us: "[W]e are unable to determine from a silent record the thought processes of the court below." Velasquez, 725 F.2d at 1021.
Because we find that the district court failed to explain its reasoning with sufficient particularity, we must remand this case to the district court so that it may make the specific findings of fact and conclusions of law necessary to support a judgment.
While we cannot render any decision on the merits of appellants' voting dilution claim, we will address the errors of law which the district court is alleged to have made in order to provide guidance for the proceedings on remand.
Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, as amended, 3 is codified at 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1973 and provides as follows:
(a) No voting qualification or prerequisite to voting or standard, practice, or procedure shall be imposed or applied by any State or political subdivision in a manner which results in a denial or abridgement of the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color, or in contravention of the guarantees set forth in section 1973b(f)(2) of this title, as provided in subsection (b) of this section.
(b) A violation of subsection (a) of this section is established if, based on the totality of circumstances, it is shown that the political processes leading to nomination or election in the State or political subdivision are not equally open to participation by members of a class of citizens protected by subsection (a) of this section in that its members have less opportunity than other members of the electorate to participate in the political process and to elect representatives of their choice. The extent to which members of a protected class have been elected to office in the State or political subdivision is one circumstance which may be considered: Provided, That nothing in this section establishes a right to have members of a protected class elected in numbers equal to their proportion in the population.
The question which the trial court must answer in a section 2 case "is whether 'as a result of the challenged practice or structure plaintiffs do not have an equal opportunity to participate in the political processes and to elect candidates of their choice.' " Gingles, 478 U.S. at 44, 106 S.Ct. at 2763 (quoting Senate Report).
It has been widely recognized that "multimember district and at-large voting schemes may operate to minimize or cancel out the voting strength of racial minorities in the voting population." Id. at 47, 106 S.Ct. at 2765. Such schemes are not, however, per se violations of section 2. Id. at 46, 106 S.Ct. at 2764. Rather, the determination whether an at-large election system such as Westwego's violates section 2 " 'depends upon a searching practical...
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