Houston lawyer Chad Dunn has twice prevented Texas from implementing one of the strictest voter ID laws in the nation. Just this week, he convinced a federal judge for the second time the Texas Legislature passed those laws with a ‘discriminatory purpose’ to keep Hispanic and African-Americans away from the voting booth. Dunn, who represents the plaintiffs opposed to the laws in Veasey v. Abbott, spoke with Texas Lawyer about how he convinced the court to strike down the state’s latest attempt at a voter ID law, what may happen on appeal, and whether the U.S. Supreme Court will finally have to consider Texas’ law on its merits to put the issue to rest.
Texas Lawyer: For the second time, U.S. District Judge Nelva Ramos has given you exactly what you wanted by declaring that Texas’ Voter I.D. is discriminatory — specifically that the Texas Legislature passed it to discriminate against Hispanics and African Americans. What was your strongest evidence that prompted this ruling?
