Professor Daniel H. Benson Eight-Year Litigation Files

This collection consists of the files and working papers of Professor Benson, who was one of several attorneys representing the successful minority plaintiffs in the case of Jones v. City of Lubbock, 727 F.2d 364 (5th Cir. 1984) which required the City of Lubbock to change its election system for city council members from the "at large" method to the "single member district system." As the trial court found, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed, the at-large system consistently deprived minority citizens of access to the political process, and no minority candidate had ever been elected to the Lubbock City Council under the at-large system. Minority candidates have consistently been elected to the Lubbock City Council under the single member district system ordered by the federal court.

This collection contains materials, notes, memoranda, letters, and other documents, prepared and utilized by the plaintiffs' attorneys as they worked on the two trials and two appeals of the case that covered a period of eight years. Notably, several of the graduates of the Texas Tech University School of Law, whose names are listed in the Fifth Circuit's decision, participated, pro bono, in the trial and appeal of the case, reflecting great credit upon themselves and our Law School. The collection was donated by Professor Benson.