Press Releases

February 24, 2004

CONTACT: Jonah Goldman at 713/546-5000; 703/201-5586
or Priscilla Ring at 202/467-4999

Settlement Reached In Waller County Voting Rights Case
Press Conference on Thursday, February 26th

WHAT: Press Briefing on PVAMU Settlement
WHEN: February 26, 2004, 11:30 AM (CST)
WHERE: Ballroom B of the Memorial Student Center

Prairie View A&M Campus(Houston, Texas) - The plaintiffs in the Waller County voting rights lawsuit and their attorneys are planning to hold a press conference to discuss a favorable settlement in the case against the Criminal District Attorney Oliver S. Kitzman. The details of the settlement will be discussed at a press conference on Thursday, February 26, 2004 at 11:30 a.m. in Ballroom B of the Memorial Student Center on the campus of Prairie View A&M University.

As a result of the settlement, Mr. Kitzman apologized and released a statement this afternoon encouraging Prairie View A&M University students to register and vote in Waller County. In addition, the settlement agreement provides for the creation of a Waller County Criminal Justice Intern within the Criminal District Attorney’s Office. Each semester, a student from PVAMU will be selected for this position.

The settlement reached by the parties also creates a PVAMU Liaison. This position will be held by an individual designated by the Prairie View Chapter of the NAACP. The PVAMU Liaison and the District Attorney will have a scheduled meeting once a month, but will also maintain an open line of communication in case unanticipated problems occur. The Liaison will be responsible for reporting to the Criminal District Attorney’s office the concerns of the PVAMU students.

In addition to the settlement agreement, representatives from the NAACP Prairie View Chapter will discuss the recent vote by the Waller County Commissioners' Court to extend early voting at the Kemp, Smith, and Coleman Community Center to two days. The implications of that decision on the lawsuit that the Chapter brought against Waller County officials will be discussed during the press conference.

Expected to attend the press conference are the plaintiffs and their lawyers, Barbara R. Arnwine, Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights; representatives from the law firm of Weil Gotshal and Manges LLP; the NAACP; the ACLU of Texas; and People For the American Way Foundation, as well as members of the Prairie View community.