Page:Lake View School District No. 25 v. Huckabee, 351 Ark. 31 (2002).pdf/69

Rh If this were not bad enough, Lake View's attorneys continued this theme of racial discrimination in their brief on the issue of attorney's fees. There, they stated in no uncertain terms that they had been given such a small attorney's fees, over $9 million, because they were African-American. They further stated that had they been Caucasian, they would have received a much bigger sum. They wrote: The vast differentiation in the fees that has been allowed in this cause is glaring in that the appellant's attorneys are the only African-American team of attorneys who have appeared before this court in a public interest case and are now receiving a disparaging fee. The members of the court must take care to recognize the implications of the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article 2, Sections 2, 3 and 18 of the Arkansas Constitution require that appellant's attorneys enjoy the same constitutional rights as do Caucasian attorneys in similar situation. As with the motions, Lake View's attorneys offered nothing in the way of proof to support their claim that they were discriminated against in being awarded a paltry $9,338,035.00. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine that any such proof exists, as the chancellor's order demonstrates that he held these attorneys in high esteem. Furthermore, the cases on which Lake View's attorneys rely, where Caucasian attorneys allegedly received large sums of money, are not school-funding cases. Counsel for Lake View's attorneys admitted in oral argument that he had not found any school-funding case where a percentage fee was awarded.

In sum, these unfounded allegations of racism are reckless and disrespectful, both to this court and to the lower court. They are an unwanted distraction from the real issues in this case. The issue of race simply did not enter into this court's decision. Indeed, I am completely confident in saying that the skin color of Lake View's attorneys played no part whatsoever in this court's decision. I am equally confident that it played no part in any of the lower court proceedings.

I understand that there was a certain amount of posturing going on in this case, both by the State's and Lake View's attorneys, and that this case was a high-profile media event. Be that as