Paul, Weiss Submits Amicus Brief on Behalf of Cities and Local Officials Challenging Texas's SB4 in the Fifth Circuit

Paul, Weiss submitted an amicus curiae brief to the Fifth Circuit on behalf of the City of Palmview, the City of San Marcos and 31 local public officials in support of the City of El Cenizo’s and other plaintiffs’ successful preliminary injunction blocking the implementation of certain provisions of Texas’s Senate Bill 4 (SB4). SB4, which restricts the activities of campus police departments and local entities by punishing those who adopt, enforce or endorse any policy that materially limits the enforcement of immigration laws, had been set to go into effect on September 1. But a federal district judge in Texas partially granted the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction on August 30, putting most of the provisions of the law on hold. Texas appealed the district court’s decision to the Fifth Circuit.

The amicus brief highlighted the specific harms to local communities that come from the restrictions on speech included in SB4. Specifically, public officials from municipalities across Texas have observed that the law instills in their constituents a sense of fear and mistrust in government that is antithetical to the notion that a public official’s job is to protect, provide for and serve the needs of the community. The cities and public officials argued that this dynamic inhibits officials’ efforts to run their departments efficiently, and, in many cases, substantially detracts from public health and safety.

The Paul, Weiss team included litigation partner Andrew Ehrlich and associates Jeff Newton, Chas Hamilton, Alexandra Gordon, Dan Rudofsky and Jesse Klinger.