CASE SUMMARY
On December 30, 2021, the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP and other civil and minority rights organizations filed a federal lawsuit against the State of Georgia, its Governor, and its Secretary of State, challenging the state's enacted legislative and congressional redistricting plans as violating various provisions of the U.S. Constitution and the federal Voting Rights Act. First, plaintiffs assert that various districts within the enacted congressional and legislative plans are racial gerrymanders in violation of the 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution because race was the predominant consideration in their creation and such use of race was not sufficiently justified. Second, plaintiffs allege that the congressional and legislative plans violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act because they "crack" and "pack" minority populations throughout the state, thereby resulting in the dilution of Black, Latino, and Asian American Pacific Islander populations' voting strength. Finally, they assert that the enacted congressional and legislative plans were enacted with the purpose of discriminating against voters of color relative to White voters throughout the state in violation of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment and Section 2 of the VRA. Plaintiffs are seeking a judicial declaration that the enacted congressional and legislative plans are unconstitutional racial gerrymanders, were enacted with an unconstitutional discriminatory purpose, and result in the dilution of minority voting strength in violation of Section 2 of the VRA; a permanent injunction barring the defendants from using the plans in any future elections; and a court order requiring the adoption of new, valid congressional and legislative plans. The plaintiffs have also requested that the court issue an order requiring Georgia to preclear voting changes during the next ten-year period pursuant to the "bail-in" provision of the Voting Rights Act.
On January 4, 2022, the district court appointed a three-judge panel to preside over the case. On February 3, the district court consolidated this case with another challenge to Georgia's congressional plan, Common Cause v. Raffensperger.
Related and Similar Cases: Common Cause v. Raffensperger; Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. v. Raffensperger; Pendergrass v. Raffensperger; Grant v. Raffensperger
CASE LIBRARY
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division - No. 1:21-cv-5338
- Complaint - 12/30/21
- Appendix 1 to Complaint - 12/30/21
- Order - 1/3/22
- Order Designating Three-Judge Court - 1/4/22
- Defendants' Status Report - 1/11/22
- Plaintiffs' Status Report - 1/11/22
- Scheduling Order - 2/1/22
- Consolidation Order - 2/3/22
- Defendants' Motion to Dismiss - 3/4/22
- Plaintiffs' Consent Motion for Extension of Time to Respond to Defendants' Motion to Dismiss - 3/15/22
- Order on Plaintiffs' Consent Motion for Extension of Time - 3/16/22
- Plaintiffs' Notice of Motion for Leave to Amend Complaint - 3/30/22
- Response to Plaintiffs' Motion for Leave to Amend Complaint - 4/13/22
- Order - 5/10/22
- Amended Complaint - 5/10/22
- Joint Preliminary Report and Discovery Plan - 5/13/22
- Defendants' Motion to Dismiss - 5/20/22
- Order - 6/1/22
- Plaintiffs' Response in Opposition to Defendants' Motion to Dismiss - 6/3/22
- Reply Brief in Support of Motion to Dismiss - 6/17/22
- Plaintiffs' Notice of Supplemental Authority - 7/18/22
- Order - 7/20/22
- Stipulation and Order Regarding Discovery - 7/27/22
- Stipulated Protective Order - 7/29/22
- Motion for Protective Order as to Non-Party Subpoenas - 9/9/22
- Stipulation and Order Regarding Discovery - 9/16/22
- Plaintiffs' Opposition to the Legislature Parties' Motion for Protective Order - 9/23/22
- Order - 9/26/22
- Reply Brief in Support of Motion for Protective Order - 9/30/22
- Defendants' Answer to Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief - 10/11/22
- Order - 11/1/22
- Joint Motion by State Defendants and Consolidated Plaintiffs to Amend Stipulation and Order Regarding Discovery - 12/2/22
- Proposed Scheduling Order - 12/7/22
- Order Granting Plaintiffs' Unopposed Motion to Enforce the Subpoena Issued to Rep. David Ralston and to Compel Production of Documents - 12/21/22
- Order - 1/17/23
- Unopposed Motion for Additional Pages for Summary Judgment Briefing - 3/22/23
- Order Granting Motion for Additional Pages - 3/23/23
- Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment - 3/27/23
- Defendants' Statement of Undisputed Material Facts - 3/27/23
- Unopposed Motion for Additional Pages for Opposition Summary Judgment Briefing - 4/21/23
- Plaintiffs' Brief in Opposition to Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment - 4/26/23
- Unopposed Motion and Brief by Plaintiffs [...] for Leave to Partially Seal Certain Portions of Exhibits ... - 4/27/23
- Notice of Filing - 4/27/23
- Order - 4/28/23
- Unopposed Motion for Additional Pages for Summary Judgment Reply Briefing - 5/4/23
- Notice of Errata to Declaration of Jacob Canter in Support of Plaintiffs' Response to Defendants' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment - 5/4/23
- Order Granting Motion for Additional Pages - 5/4/23
- Defendants' Reply in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment - 5/10/23
- Defendants' Responses and Objections to Plaintiffs' Statement of Additional Material Facts - 5/10/23
- Notice of Errata to Plaintiffs' Statement of Material Facts Which Present a Dispute in Opposition to Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment - 5/25/23
- Court's Notice of Filing - 5/31/23
- Order - 6/8/23
- Defendant's Supplemental Brief Regarding Judgment Briefing Based on Allen v. Milligan - 6/23/23
- Plaintiffs' Supplemental Brief in Opposition to Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment - 6/23/23
- Order - 10/4/23
- Order - 10/4/23
- Defendant's Notice of Constitutional Question - 10/10/23
- Order - 10/17/23
- Order - 10/24/23
- Plaintiffs' Motion for an Order Permitting Electronic Equipment in the Courtroom [...] - 10/26/23
- Opinion and Order - 10/26/23
- Order on Plaintiffs' Motion for an Order Permitting Electronic Equipment in the Courtroom [...] - 10/27/23
- Joint Pretrial Order - 10/27/23
- Brief in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion In Limine - 10/27/23
- Order Granting Plaintiffs' Motion to Permit A/V Equipment [...] - 10/30/23
- Motion to Hold Case in Abeyance - 10/30/23
- Notice of Errata to Attachment F-2 to Joint Pretrial Order - 10/30/23
- Defendant's Notice of Decision Not to Seek Stay - 11/1/23
- Order - 11/1/23
- United States' Notice of Intervention - 11/3/23
- Response to United States on Constitutionality of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act - 11/17/23