Attorney Page Pate has been representing clients in federal court in cases involving interpretation of constitutional law. Occasionally, Page will be asked to serve as local counsel in important cases where the parties involved are not located or admitted in the District Court in the Northern District of Georgia.

In this case, the Department of Justice contacted Pate, Johnson and Church to request assistance in filing a federal lawsuit against the State of Georgia and the Republican National Committee regarding the new voting law. The DOJ claims that certain aspects of the new law are discriminatory because they constrict certain voting methods commonly used by Black voters in the State of Georgia.

11 Alive contacted Page to discuss the new law and the specifics of the brief he filed supporting the Department of Justice on behalf of 21 states and the District of Columbia. Page explains that “The issue is becoming is discriminatory intent enough? Can you strike down the law even though if you read it, it doesn’t say that it’s intending to discriminate against anyone? The argument is I don’t care what the law itself says. It’s the consequences of putting this law on the books, the results that will inevitably happen as a result of this law. They know better than to write in the law itself we’re going to discriminate against a group of people. But I think the effect and the motivation here is crystal clear.”

The State of Georgia is asking for the case to be dismissed, saying there is nothing discriminatory in the text of the law. Page tells 11 Alive that “he expects a ruling on that motion very soon.”

TRANSCRIPT:

Reporter: A group of states and the District of Columbia are imploring a federal judge in Atlanta to hear evidence in the federal lawsuit against Georgia’s new voting law. The Department of Justice is suing Georgia and the Republican National Committee over the voting law passed after the 2020 election. They claim certain provisions are discriminatory by constricting voting methods favored by Black Georgians. The state of Georgia is asking for the case to be dismissed, saying there is nothing discriminatory in the text of the law. Local attorney Page Pate filed a brief supporting the federal government on behalf of those 21 states and D.C. He says they want to make sure the case is not dismissed before they have the chance to provide evidence of covert discriminatory intent in the law.

Page: The issue is becoming is discriminatory intent enough? Can you strike down the law even though if you read it, it doesn’t say that it’s intending to discriminate against anyone? The argument is I don’t care what the law itself says. It’s the consequences of putting this law on the books, the results that will inevitably happen as a result of this law. They know better than to write in the law itself we’re going to discriminate against a group of people. But I think the effect and the motivation here is crystal clear.

Reporter: We want to point out Page is also a legal expert for 11Alive. He says he expects a ruling on that motion very soon.