Baker v. Wade

106 F.R.D. 526, 1985 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18335
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Texas
DecidedJuly 1, 1985
DocketNo. CA 3-79-1434-R
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 106 F.R.D. 526 (Baker v. Wade) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Baker v. Wade, 106 F.R.D. 526, 1985 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18335 (N.D. Tex. 1985).

Opinion

SUPPLEMENTAL OPINION

BUCHMEYER, District Judge.

This opinion supplements the decision in Baker v. Wade, 553 F.Supp. 1121 (N.D.Tex. Aug. 17, 1982).1

It concerns two motions—a “Motion to Set Aside Final Judgment and Reopen the Evidence” and a “Motion to Intervene and Substitute Class Representative”—filed on behalf of Danny Hill, the District Attorney for the 47th Judicial District (Potter County, Texas) by Wm. Charles Bundren, a Dallas attorney who represents both District Attorney Hill and a group called “Dallas Doctors Against AIDS.”2

Neither Hill nor Bundren—nor Dallas Doctors Against AIDS (“DDAA”)—participated in the June 1981 trial of this case, Nor did they attempt to represent the defendants in this controversy until April 1983, almost six months after the final judgment was entered on September 30, 1982. For the following reasons, their motions are DENIED.

1. THE FACTUAL BACKGROUND

When this case was tried (June 1981), it was defended by the Attorney General of the State of Texas; by Henry Wade, the District Attorney of Dallas County; and by Lee Holt, the City Attorney of Dallas. Wade and Holt had been certified as representatives of a defendant class consisting of “all district, county and city attorneys in the State of Texas responsible for the enforcement of Texas Penal Code Ann. § 21.-06 (‘Homosexual Conduct’).” (553 F.Supp. at 1125.)

This Court’s decision was rendered on August 17, 1982. It held that § 21.06— which prohibits private, consensual sodomy between homosexuals—was unconstitutional because it violated the constitutional rights of privacy and equal protection. (553 F.Supp. 1135-45.) After a hearing concerning attorneys fees (42 U.S.C. § 1988), final judgment was entered on September 30, 1982.

The Potter County District Attorney’s Office (both Danny Hill and his predecessor) elected not to participate in the trial of this case.3 Neither Wm. Charles Bundren nor “Dallas Doctors Against Aids” participated in the trial; and, neither requested leave to appear as amicus curiae before [528]*528this Court’s decision (August 17, 1982) or before the entry of final judgment (September 30, 1982). There were no motions for new trial under Fed.R.Civ.P. 59(b)—by Hill, by Bundren or by DDAA—or, indeed, by anyone else.4

On October 28, 1982, a notice of appeal was filed by Potter County District Attorney Danny Hill.5 On November 1, 1982, the State of Texas filed its notice of appeal. Neither the City of Dallas nor the County of Dallas appealed. Then, by letter dated March 9, 1983, the Texas Attorney General advised the Clerk of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that the State had “concluded not to further prosecute this appeal.” A formal motion to withdraw the State’s appeal was filed on March 18, 1983, and it was subsequently granted.

Dallas Doctors Against Aids

The group known as “Dallas Doctors Against Aids” and its attorney, Wm. Charles Bundren, first appeared publicly in this case on February 23, 1983, when they sought leave to file an amicus brief with the Fifth Circuit. On March 10, 1983—one day after the State of Texas gave notice that it was dismissing its appeal6—the DDAA attorney, Wm. Charles Bundren, filed a motion with the Fifth Circuit to be substituted as counsel of record for Potter County District Attorney Danny Hill.7 This was granted, and Bundren represented both Hill and DDAA before the Fifth Circuit until July 26, 1983, when Donovan Campbell, Jr., filed an appearance of counsel for DDAA (see footnote 2).

However, on April 12, 1983, Wm. Charles Bundren—solely as the attorney for Potter County District Attorney Danny Hill—filed a “Motion to Set Aside Final Judgment and Reopen the Evidence” and a “Motion to Intervene and Substitute [Danny Hill] as Class Representative.” So, before this Court, Bundren represents only Hill, and not DDAA.8

The AIDS Motions

The pending motions purport to be based upon a concern about “AIDS”—the “lethal and epidemic disease of Acquired Immunological Deficiency Syndrome.” AIDS is, at present, a mysterious, incurable, and often fatal disease—which, to date, has primarily affected homosexual males and, apparently to a lesser degree, intravenous drug users [529]*529(drug addicts), Haitians, and hemophiliacs. (Affidavit of Dr. Kevin Murphy, Brief of Appellee, Appendix 9.)

In essence, the motions contend that “the public health and safety of all citizens of Texas will be harmed if the spread of AIDS is not stopped.” And, they argue—quite seriously9—that § 21.06 is desperately needed to combat the AIDS menace, so the State of Texas will be able to fight AIDS by exacting $200 fines from persons who engage in private, consensual homosexual conduct.10

Hill-Bundren-DDAA maintain that “the acknowledged statistics show that homosexuals have accounted for a vastly disproportionate share of the AIDS cases (95% to 100% at the time of trial in this case; approximately 72% more recently).” And, they contend:

“Rule 60(b)(2) recognizes a party’s right to seek relief from a judgment on the basis of newly discovered evidence. AIDS is newly discovered evidence. The incidents of AIDS in persons who engage in homosexual conduct and its deathly public health threat are newly discovered evidence. Although AIDS had been discovered at the time of trial, its direct relationship to homosexual conduct was not fully established. AIDS is recognized by the medical community as one of the most deadly and proliferic (sic) diseases in recent memory and is directly related to homosexual conduct. The Court should consider the public health dangers which AIDS poses and its relationship to the type of conduct which is before the Court in this action____” (Brief in Support of Motion to Set Aside Final Judgment and Reopen the Evidence, p. 4) (emphasis added).

In addition to “numerous magazine articles concerning AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases in homosexual individuals,” the motions are “supported” by certain affidavits, including that of Dr. Paul Cameron. There are no affidavits, however, from the original defendants or their attorneys in support of the pending motions.

In opposition, the plaintiff, Donald F. Baker, contends that there is no “newly discovered evidence”—and that Hill-Bundren-DDAA are merely dissatisfied with this Court’s decision, so they want to try the case again. In addition, the plaintiff has submitted affidavits from experts who explain why, in their opinion, the Hill-Bundren-DDAA assertions concerning AIDS are simply not valid. (Brief of Appellant, Appendix 4-9.) For example, Dr. Kevin Murphy of Dallas, who is the “Special Consultant on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome” to the Texas Department of Health, describes the presently known characteristics of AIDS:

“(a) [AIDS] is an explosively epidemic illness, characterized by person-to-person spread suggestive of a transmissible agent;

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Related

Waggoner v. Gibson
647 F. Supp. 1102 (N.D. Texas, 1986)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
106 F.R.D. 526, 1985 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18335, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/baker-v-wade-txnd-1985.