Jury reaches mixed verdict in equal rights ordinance trial

Protesters gather outside City Hall after a proposed compromise was announced on May 13 in the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance. Protesters gather outside City Hall after a proposed compromise was announced on May 13 in the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance. Photo: Cody Duty, Staff Photo: Cody Duty, Staff Image 1 of / 32 Caption Close Jury reaches mixed verdict in equal rights ordinance trial 1 / 32 Back to Gallery

The city claimed victory Friday when the jury in the trial surrounding Houston's equal rights ordinance found that the law's opponents submitted a repeal referendum petition that contained forgery and other flaws.

However, it issued a series of decisions that were far from a clean sweep for either side.

The ruling is not final, and a judge will now consider the jury's findings about the work of more than 100 circulators of the petition that the city rejected last summer, citing overwhelming notary and signature-gatherer errors.

District Judge Robert Schaffer was not present for Friday's ruling after nearly six days of jury deliberation. Attorneys on both sides said he will now begin counting which signatures are valid to see if opponents have reached the needed 17,269-signature threshold. Schaffer retains wide legal discretion in what he deems valid.

The jury's ruling Friday will trigger a series of legal dominoes that, eventually, will yield a definitive answer: The judge will count the signatures, issue a decision on whether the petition is valid and then the case will almost certainly go to the appellate courts.

Attorneys on both sides, however, were quick to say the jury's verdict would prompt Schaffer to rule in their favor.

"Anyone who was hoping that the jury's verdict would give a clear indication that the Houston equal rights ordinance is valid and will withstand this attack should be thrilled and dancing in their kitchen because that's what the jury did here," attorney Geoffrey Harrison said. "The jury rejected out of hand the repeal petition from the plaintiffs."

Harrison contends the group is more than 10,000 signatures below the threshold. He said the jury's ruling that 12 of 13 circulators in question submitted pages containing forgery and that some high-volume circulators did not properly sign the pages they collected bodes well for the city. The law's conservative opponents, however, maintained they would prevail when the judge begins his review, saying he has the power to reject some of the jury's findings.

Lawyer Andy Taylor cited the jury's conclusion that none of the 13 circulators in question submitted pages containing fraud as a victory. And on the big-ticket question of whether or not 98 different circulators correctly "signed and subscribed" the pages they submitted, Taylor said he was encouraged by the 33 signatures gatherers the jury found had done so.

"The thing that is super significant here is that the jury found no fraud," Taylor said. "This mayor has been claiming for over six months that these hardworking citizens committed fraud and this jury found that they did not. So they can take that to the bank."

Parker positive

Mayor Annise Parker said in a statement Friday that she was "very pleased" with jury's ruling and expected the judge would ultimately rule that critics' petition had failed. She also said she hoped the opponents would not take the fight to the appellate courts.

"I believe that the majority of Houston wants this divisive fight to be over so that we are able to provide equal rights protections for all of our residents," Parker said. "The city is confident it will prevail."

The ruling marked yet another twist in the political saga that has unfolded since City Council last spring approved the ordinance with an 11-6 vote. The law bans discrimination based not just on sexual orientation and gender identity but also, as federal laws do, sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, pregnancy and genetic information, as well as family, marital or military status.

The ordinance applies to businesses that serve the public, private employers, housing, city employment and city contracting. Religious institutions are exempt.

Critics of the ordinance, largely conservative activists, object to the protections it extends to gay and transgender residents. They sued the city when Parker and former City Attorney David Feldman rejected their petition to force a repeal referendum last summer.

From the outpouring of impassioned testimony in council chambers to, months later, the outcry over the city's admittedly botched subpoenaing of certain pastors, controversy around the law has erupted numerous times.

But the jurors were not contemplating the merits of the ordinance and were instead handed the unenviable task of poring over the 5,199-page petition and answering six questions about the work of more than 100 circulators. Those questions were about technical issues such as whether or not certain circulators both "signed and subscribed" petition pages they collected, whether the city could have determined a specific signature gatherer's identity and whether petition pages contain fraud or forgery. Ten of the 12 jurors signed off on the final decision.

Judge commends jurors

Judge Schaffer and attorneys on both sides marveled at the level of scrutiny jurors applied to the charge, submitting a flurry of detailed questions and, in one instance, calling attention to an improperly redacted page in a sea of thousands of documents.

"The length of this deliberation nobody could have anticipated," Schaffer said Thursday.

The deliberations lasted almost as long the trial, which spanned seven days of testimony and featured everyone from Parker to plaintiff Jared Woodfill to Feldman on the stand.

"It was a very personal trial," Woodfill said. "But I'm excited about the ruling."

Likewise, Harrison said the city had good reason to celebrate.

"This is an exciting moment and an exciting result for anyone who cares about equal rights in Houston," Harrison said.

Both parties will get a better sense of whether their claims to victory are likely to hold up when Schaffer meets with the attorneys Feb. 19 to discuss what happens next.