Pool v. City of Houston, No. 22-20491 (5th Cir. 2023)

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In this case brought before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the plaintiffs were appealing the wording of a district court's declaratory judgment which held certain voter-registration provisions in the Houston City Charter unconstitutional. The plaintiffs were up against the City of Houston and two officials, Anna Russell and Pat J. Daniel, who were acting in their official capacities as City Secretaries.

The court, however, found that there was no case or controversy as both parties had agreed from the start that the voter registration provisions were unconstitutional, and the city confirmed that it could not and would not enforce these provisions. The court cited precedent confirming that where there is no adversity between the parties on a constitutional question, there is no Article III case or controversy.

Therefore, the court vacated the district court's judgment and remanded the case with instructions to dismiss the suit without prejudice, stating that such faux disputes do not belong in federal court. This dismissal allows for the possibility of the case being refiled in a competent jurisdiction in the future if necessary.

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Case: 22-20491 Document: 00516996696 Page: 1 Date Filed: 12/11/2023 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ____________ United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED December 11, 2023 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk No. 22-20491 ____________ Joe Richard Pool, III; Trenton Donn Pool; Accelevate2020, L.L.C.; Liberty Initiative Fund; Paul Jacob, Plaintiffs—Appellants, versus City of Houston; Anna Russell, in her official capacity as the City Secretary of the City of Houston; Pat J. Daniel, In her official capacity as the Secretary of the City of Houston, Defendants—Appellees. ______________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. 4:19-CV-2236 ______________________________ Before Jolly, Engelhardt, and Oldham, Circuit Judges. Andrew S. Oldham, Circuit Judge, The district court entered a declaratory judgment that held unconstitutional certain voter-registration provisions in the Houston City Charter. Plaintiffs appeal the wording of that judgment. We hold no case or controversy exists. So we vacate the judgment and remand with instructions to dismiss the suit without prejudice. Case: 22-20491 Document: 00516996696 Page: 2 Date Filed: 12/11/2023 No. 22-20491 “Jurisdiction is always first.” Carswell v. Camp, 54 F.4th 307, 310 (5th Cir. 2022) (quotation omitted). It is well settled that, where the parties agree on a constitutional question, there is no adversity and hence no Article III case or controversy. See, e.g., Moore v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Bd. of Educ., 402 U.S. 47, 47–48 (1971) (considering “the anomaly that both litigants desire precisely the same result, namely a holding that the anti-busing statute is constitutional,” and holding “[t]here is, therefore, no case or controversy within the meaning of Art. III of the Constitution”); Muskrat v. United States, 219 U.S. 346, 361–62 (1911); Lord v. Veazie, 49 U.S. 251, 255 (1850); Bullard v. Estelle, 708 F.2d 1020, 1023 (5th Cir. 1983) (citation omitted) (dismissing for lack of case or controversy when both parties “affirmatively desire the same result”); see also R. Fallon, J. Manning, D. Meltzer & D. Shapiro, Hart & Wechsler’s Federal Courts And The Federal System 94–101 (7th ed. 2015) (collecting cases on adversariness requirement). Here, “all parties have agreed from the beginning of this case that Houston’s voter registration provisions governing circulators” are unconstitutional. Red Br. 7. The City also agreed that it “would and could not enforce the provisions.” Id. at 8. The City has repeatedly and consistently emphasized its agreement with the plaintiffs throughout this suit. ROA.441, 980–81. Such faux disputes do not belong in federal court. See Moore, 402 U.S. at 47–48; Bullard, 708 F.2d at 1023. * * * The district court’s judgment is VACATED, and the suit is REMANDED with instructions to DISMISS the case without prejudice. See, e.g., Spivey v. Chitimacha Tribe of La., 79 F.4th 444, 449 (5th Cir. 2023) (“[I]t’s precisely because the jurisdiction-less court cannot reach the merits that it also cannot issue with-prejudice dismissals that would carry res judicata 2 Case: 22-20491 Document: 00516996696 Page: 3 Date Filed: 12/11/2023 No. 22-20491 effect. So we’ve repeatedly insisted that a jurisdictional dismissal must be without prejudice to refiling in a forum of competent jurisdiction.”) (quotation omitted; emphasis in original). 3

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