Greg Abbot is a bad lawyer-Court finds Texas Swagger Costs It Attorneys Fees in Voting Rights Case

[Gothmog]

Greg is a bad attorney. Wendy Davis won at the trial court level in the first redistricting case and the court awarded her attorney fees. Greg contested these attorney fees and the court was not kind to him http://electionlawblog.org/?p=62537

See this order in State of Texas v. Davis:

This matter presents a case study in how not to respond to a motion for attorney fees and costs. At issue is whether defendant-intervenors, who prevailed in Voting Rights Act litigation before a three-judge panel, may recoup attorney fees and costs even though the Supreme Court vacated that opinion in light of the Supreme Court’s subsequent decision in a different lawsuit that declared a section of the Voting Rights Act unconstitutional. A quick search of the Federal Reporter reveals the complexity of this narrow question. Yet, rather than engage the fee applicants, Plaintiff Texas basically ignores the arguments supporting an award of fees and costs. In a three-page filing entitled “Advisory,” Texas trumpets the Supreme Court’s decision, expresses indignation at having to respond at all, and presumes that the motion for attorney fees is so frivolous that Texas need not provide further briefing in opposition unless requested. Such an opposition is insufficient in this jurisdiction. Circuit precedent and the Local Rules of this Court provide that the failure to respond to an opposing party’s arguments results in waiver as to the unaddressed contentions, and the Court finds that Texas’s “Advisory” presents no opposition on the applicable law. Accordingly, the Court will award the requested fees and costs.

Again, Greg is a really bad attorney

[blogslut]

1. Do you think he'll appear for the two scheduled debates with Ms. Davis?

Or do you think he'll back out ala Goodhair? I haven't seen much film of Abbott thinking on his feet but I suspect he's not as flat-out dumb as Perry. I realize debates don't have much sway election-wise, but I'm convinced of the probability that he'll blurt out some clueless arrogant bullshit that will get good airplay.

[Gothmog]

2. Juanita Jean is not amused by Greg's stupidity

Juanita Jean is not amused by Greg's stupidity http://www.juanitajean.com/2014/06/20/the-cost-of-being-a-cowboy/

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott thinks he’s Texas Tough.

He ain’t.

And he ain’t nowhere near smart enough to be Governor.

Here’s how this goes in people language instead of lawyer language:

Three plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against Texas in a Voting Rights Act dispute. Wendy Davis was one of them. They won in front of a three judge panel in Texas. Attorney General Greg Abbott’s side lost.

So, the lawyers on the winning side asked that the State of Texas pay their legal fees because the State of Texas was wrong, wrong, wrong.

Attorney General Abbott decided to go with the “oh those gnats!” legal argument.

It did not work. At all.

“Rather than engage the fee applicants, Plaintiff Texas basically ignores the arguments supporting an award of fees and costs,” Collyer writes, adding that the state “expresses indignation at having to respond at all, and presumes that the motion for attorney fees is so frivolous that Texas need not provide further briefing in opposition unless requested.”

Bottom line: Collyer said she would “award $466,680.36 to the Davis Intervenors, $597,715.60 to the Gonzales Intervenors and $32,374.05 to the Texas State Conference of NAACP Branches.”

Okay, so one million dollars of taxpayer money goes to lawyers because Greg Abbott wanted to play smartass.

The judge also called it “arrogant and ineffective lawyering.” Yep, that pretty much sums up Greg Abbott.

Greg is a really bad lawyer

[RussBLib]

3. Wendy Davis needs to trumpet this bigtime

She beats Greg Abbot in court and Abbot just flouts the law. This from the Attorney General, who is supposed to uphold the laws? Who knows how reckless Abbot would be if he were Texas Governor.

Wendy could make some excellent advertisements from this, but I'm sure the GOP will look at it like the Feds are trying to tell Texas what to do. Well, yeah, as long as Texas is one of the "United States" the Feds do have some rights.

[Gothmog]

4. Wendy mentioned this at an event this morning

We had an event this morning with Wendy Davis as the speaker. Wendy made a big deal out beating Greg in this case

[RussBLib]

5. glad to hear it!

Go Wendy!