http://fremonttribune.com/news/local...cc4c03286.html

Depositions set to begin in lawsuits

Chris Zavadil/Fremont Tribune | Posted: Saturday, May 14, 2011 3:00 am

Depositions will begin soon in the case against Fremont Ordinance 5165.

Lawsuits filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund against the ordinance that would ban hiring of or renting to illegal immigrants in Fremont were combined and are scheduled for trial in U.S. District Court in April 2012.

Both lawsuits essentially claim the ordinance violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, various clauses of the 14th Amendment, the Fair Housing Act, and exceeds the city's authority under the Nebraska Constitution.

Attorney Kris Kobach, defending the city of Fremont, on Monday filed responses to amended complaints in the lawsuits.

MALDEF filed its first amended complaint on April 18, and the ACLU amended its complaint for the third time on April 21.

Kobach said the amendments have been minor changes, adding a couple plaintiffs and updating names to reflect changes in city officials.

"There are a couple changes that the plaintiffs made in the way they phrased certain paragraphs, but I would regard it as not particularly significant," he said.

"The case is proceeding along the schedule that the judge set," he added.

John Wiegert, one of three Fremont residents who circulated a petition in 2008 calling for a public election of the ordinance, is scheduled for a June 2 deposition.

The other two circulators, Wanda Kotas and Jerry Hart, have also received subpoenas, along with the Fremont Tribune, Max Design and NRG Media.

The ordinance was originally set to take effect on July 29, 2010, but the city council put it on hold awaiting the outcome of legal challenges.