YAKIMA — The American Civil Liberties Union is seeking more than $2.8 million in legal costs from the city of Yakima in the organization’s successful voting rights lawsuit.
The Yakima Herald-Republic newspaper reported that the numbers surfaced in court filings late Tuesday.
Several Yakima City Council members said they had just heard about the request and hadn’t yet had a chance to look at the documents.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Rice ruled last summer that Yakima’s system for city council elections “suffocates” the will of Latino voters. He asked the city and the ACLU chapter to come up with proposals for new systems. On Feb. 17, he adopted the ACLU’s proposed redistricting plan.
The city has already spent more than $900,000 defending the case. City lawyers have until March 19 to file an appeal.
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