Judge’s Strong Dissent
Senior Circuit Judge Jerry Smith issued a fierce critique of a fellow federal judge on Wednesday, accusing him of displaying “unrestrained ideological judicial zeal” in a recent decision that invalidated Texas’s new congressional map.
Judge Smith charged Judge Brown with engaging in “pernicious judicial misbehavior” by hastily releasing a flawed majority opinion without allowing Judge Smith to present his dissent simultaneously.
In his extensive 104-page dissent, Judge Smith expressed his frustration by writing “I dissent” at least 16 times, while delivering sharp criticisms of Judge Brown’s procedural handling and legal reasoning.
He suggested that if there were a Nobel Prize for fiction, Judge Brown would be a worthy recipient. In his experience as a federal judge spanning 37 years, he described the ruling as the most blatant example of judicial activism he has ever encountered.
Judge Smith accused Judge Brown of aligning with billionaire liberal donor George Soros in overturning Texas’s map, claiming that Soros-funded groups provided the legal support for the challengers.
Judge Brown, appointed by former President Trump, was part of the three-judge panel that ruled against Texas’s redistricting plan. The majority concluded that the state’s map changes were aimed at diminishing the voting power of racial and ethnic minorities, violating the Voting Rights Act.
Judge Smith dismissed this conclusion as an “absurdity,” arguing that the primary motivation behind redistricting was partisan advantage rather than racial bias.
The scathing dissent seemed directed not only at Judge Brown but also at the Supreme Court, which Texas has requested to intervene and block the lower court’s ruling.
Judge Smith asserted that Judge Brown mishandled facts, law, resolution, tone, and procedure throughout the case. Among his many critiques were:
- If this were a law school exam, the opinion would deserve an ‘F.’
- Judge Brown’s analysis reflects either naivety or willful blindness unbefitting of the judiciary.
- The main beneficiaries of this ruling are George Soros and Gavin Newsom; its victims are Texans and the rule of law.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott instructed lawmakers to redraw district lines after concerns from the federal Justice Department regarding potential illegal racial gerrymandering in several districts based on recent Supreme Court discussions.
The legislature proposed a new map potentially reducing Democratic representation from 15 to 8 out of Texas’s 38 U.S. House seats. However, Judge Brown deemed this new map an illegal racial gerrymander due to its elimination of majority-minority districts.
