Federal court challenge to Texas’s congressional and state legislative maps, alleging vote dilution in violation of § 2 of the Voting Rights Act, intentional racial discrimination, and the unconstitutional malapportionment of the state House maps.  This case has been consolidated with several others also alleging constitutional and Voting Rights Act violations of the congressional and state legislative maps.

The Brooks plaintiffs sought a preliminary injunction in 2022 on their constitutional race-based claims with respect to Senate District 10.  On Feb. 1, 2022, the court denied the preliminary injunction, with a full opinion on May 4, 2022; the U.S. Supreme Court denied jurisdiction over the appeal on Nov. 21, 2022.

The case then entered an extensive discovery phase, with more than two years of litigation over documents, depositions, and legislative privilege, including several trips to the Fifth Circuit.  July 26, 2024, filings from the plaintiffs and from the state discussed the status of those disputes, which largely foreclosed discovery with respect to the disputed evidence, based on legislative privilege, and a different elections case in the Fifth Circuit determining that legislative privilege is not waived when legislators communicate with third parties outside of the legislature.  On May 22, 2025, the Fifth Circuit determined that it did not have jurisdiction over the interlocutory discovery appeal; any objection to the discovery rulings would have to be litigated after a final disposition of the case in the trial court.

On Feb. 21, 2025, the court determined that it was bound by the en banc decision in Petteway v. Galveston County, which barred VRA claims on behalf of multiple minority groups within one district.

A bench trial was held May 21 – June 11, 2025.  Before trial, plaintiffs submitted charts summarizing the various claims against the Congressional plan, state Senate plan, and state House plan.