Esperanza Peace & Justice Center

The Trial • August 2000

The Trial itself was held on August 21 and 22, 2000 in the Western District Court of Texas, in front of Judge Orlando Garcia. We put on 23 witnesses in less than 15 hours, the City Attorney presented one witness (1). This section features all the motions and briefs, our press packets and the media coverage, and the community’s excitment and involvement. ¡Todos Somos Esperanza!

Filed Court Documents: Plantiff's Post-Trial Brief and Plantiff's Amended Proposed Findings of Fact With Citations to the Evidence and Conclusions of Law

coming in December, Defendant's Brief and Proposed Findings of Facts… and after that comes the Plantiff's Reply… and then the decision will come from the Judge.

Defunding Esperanza • September 1997

On September 11, 1997 the San Antonio City Council voted unanimously to eliminate the Esperanza Center and two organizations we umbrellaed from the City’s public arts funding process. Esperanza had received arts funding from the city for seven years and received top marks by peer panels evaluating the artistic merit of organizations. The Council's decision to eliminate us from the once-democratic process came on the heels of a campaign by conservative christian organizers to end "the homosexual agenda" and promote "family values".

Filing our Lawsuit • August 1998

After a year of contemplation, discussion and research, the Esperanza decided to file a lawsuit on August 4, 1998. The City immediately replied by threating to definately defund us again if we did not drop the suit. We filed a Motion for Preliminary Injunction to ask the Court to prevent the City from acting in such retaliation. Realizing their threats were unconstitutional, the City backpeddled… all this, including the media coverage of our announcement to file a suit, is in this section.

Motion for
Summary Judgment • August 1999

In the Summer of 1999, the Plantiffs filed what is called a “Motion for Summary Judgement.” Over 2,000 pages (with all the copies of evidence), we filed four books and a box of audio and videotapes. The Motion asked the Court to rule in our favor before going to trial — basically by looking at all the evidence and the legal arguments, the Court could have decided a trial was not neccessary and decided the case right then. Instead the Judge ruled we should go to trial. These documents give a good overview of the case, listing the facts, and include the City’s legal arguements. The Court’s ruling gave us the first indication of how our case is being understood.

The Court's Ruling: the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation, 1/18/00

Plantiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment:
• Plantiffs' Brief
• Statement of Facts
• Declaration of Dennis Poplin
• Declaration of Graciela Sánchez
• Declaration of Penny Boyer

Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment:
• Defendant's Brief
• Statement of Facts

Briefs in Response and Reply:
• Plantiffs' Response
• Plantiffs' Reply
• Defendants' Reply

Discovery / Collecting Evidence

Since the very beginning of the attacks against the Esperanza, we have been collecting papers, audio, video and information about what’s happening. From October 1998 to June 1999 we officially conducted “Discovery” — the process of gathering evidence with the official backing of the Court. We took 19 depositions (official interviews under oath, which are transcribed by Court Reporters), including the Mayor and the City Council. The City did 3 depositions. This section includes some of this evidence.