Editor’s note: This article is part of a special Texas Lawyer issue commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The complete commemorative edition of the paper comes out on May 12.
The summer of 2011 was hot and muggy in East Texas; the humidity was often unbearable. That summer, my father, David E. Bernsen, and I began what became innumerable drives to Jasper from our law office in Beaumont, culminating in what would become one of the most contentious civil rights lawsuits in Jasper County history.
Our firm became involved in the case when we received a phone call from a 20-year veteran of the Department of Public Safety who had recently become the first African-American police chief of Jasper. There were rumblings on the local news about a group of citizens who were displeased with his selection by the city council, which had a majority of African-American members. This small group of white citizens was attempting to recall the black city council members who voted to hire the chief.
As I was speaking on the phone with the chief, I recall thinking to myself, “We don’t even handle civil rights cases.”
However, after listening to his story I approached my boss (who also happens to be my father) and told him we needed to take the case
“This type of case is why I went to law school,” I told him.
The chief and his wife—who is white, which seemed to further agitate the community—met with us shortly thereafter. The rest was a long, entrenched battle, full of name-calling and national and local media appearances.
Since that time, our firm has engaged in numerous civil rights cases, from racial discrimination in the workplace to police misconduct to custodial deaths of inmates. Some of these cases are probably more aptly described as causes. Don’t get me wrong; we delight in advocating on behalf of victims in personal injury cases, business litigation cases, etc., but there is something especially gratifying about civil rights work.
Meet the Need
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
