BACKGROUND

The Southeastern Legal Foundation, founded in 1976, is an Atlanta-based public interest law firm which advocates limited government, individual liberty, and the free enterprise system in the courts of law and public opinion. The firm, which specializes in constitutional law, has participated in many cases before the U.S. Supreme Court on issues ranging from private property rights and free speech to government-sponsored affirmative action and the decennial census. The Foundation has litigated and participated in several landmark affirmative action challenges, including City of Richmond v. Croson (1989) and City of Jacksonville v. AGC of Northeast Florida (1992), as well as successfully challenging unconstitutional set-asides in the City of Nashville, Tennessee, the Atlanta Public Schools, and DeKalb County, Georgia. The Foundation has 110,000 annual supporters nationwide.

PLAINTIFFS’ ATTORNEYS OF RECORD

Valle Simms Dutcher, Esq.

Ms. Dutcher is General Counsel for the Southeastern Legal Foundation. A cum laude graduate of Pace University School of Law, she litigates all of the Foundation’s cases in the Southeast and the District of Columbia in concert with local counsel specially retained for their expertise in particular areas of law. Ms. Dutcher successfully represented plaintiffs in Glavin, et al. v. Clinton, et al. (1999), a U.S. Supreme Court case challenging the constitutionality of the Clinton census sampling plan.

Richmond Mason Barge, Esq.

Mr. Barge serves as Of Counsel to the Atlanta-based firm, Parks, Chesin & Miller. A graduate of Emory University School of Law, he specializes in various race and sex discrimination cases for private and public colleges and secondary schools, dairies, airlines, construction companies, transport companies, etc. Most recently, he successfully represented plaintiffs in a constitutional challenge in federal district court against Fulton County, Georgia’s race and gender preference program for public contracting, Webster v. Fulton County.

A. Lee Parks, Esq.

Mr. Parks is senior partner in the Atlanta-based firm, Parks, Chesin & Miller. A graduate of Emory University School of Law, he specializes in civil rights matters including cases involving education, affirmative action, minority set-aside programs in public contracting, employment discrimination and wage and hour law. Mr. Parks was the plaintiffs’ counsel in Miller v. Johnson, 515 U.S. 900, 115 S.Ct. 2475 (1995) and Abrams v. Johnson, 521 U.S. 75, 117 S.Ct. 1925 (1997), the first successful constitutional challenges to majority black Congressional and legislative districting plans as racial gerrymanders.

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