Case Summary
The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana on behalf of the Louisiana State Conference of the NAACP and two African-American voters. The lawsuit alleges the map used to elect Louisiana’s seven state Supreme Court justices is discriminatory against African-American voters in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief and request that the district boundaries be redrawn. The Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss in light of an ongoing consent decree from the Eastern District of Louisiana related to the state’s supreme court districts, arguing that the Middle District Court lacked jurisdiction over the Supreme Court districts because the consent decree left jurisdiction solely with the Eastern District Court. This Motion was denied on June 26, 2020.
On October 19, 2020, the court granted Defendants' Motion for Certification of Order for Interlocutory Appeal of the District Court's June 26 order, but denied the Defendant's request to stay the case while the interlocutory appeal was pending. On November 19, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted the Defendants' Motion for Leave to Appeal from the District Court's Interlocutory Order.
Oral argument was held before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on June 10, 2021. The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's order on September 17, 2021, thereby returning the case back to the district court for further proceedings. On July 19, the district court granted the parties' consent motion to stay the case to allow them to pursue a settlement of the plaintiffs' claims.
Case Library
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana - No. 3:19-cv-00479
- Complaint - 7/23/19
- Status Report - 9/5/19
- Defendant's Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Complaint - 10/4/19
- Motion to Dismiss by Defendant - 10/4/19
- Plaintiffs' Memorandum in Opposition to Defendant Louisiana's Motion to Dismiss - 10/25/19
- Plaintiffs' Memorandum in Opposition to Defendant Ardoin's Motion to Dismiss - 10/25/19
- Defendants' Reply to Opposition to Motion to Dismiss - 11/7/19
- Defendant Louisiana's Reply in Support of its Motion to Dismiss - 11/8/19
- Ruling and Order on Motion to Dismiss - 6/26/20
- Plaintiffs' Brief in Opposition to Defendants' Joint Motion for Certification of Order for Interlocutory Appeal - 8/7/20
- Plaintiffs' Brief in Opposition to Defendants' Joint Motion to Transfer Venue Under 28 U.S.C. 1404(a) or, Alternatively, the First-to-File Rule - 8/7/20
- Ruling and Order - 10/19/20
- Order Granting Motion for Permission to Appeal Filed by Petitioners State of Louisiana - 11/25/20
- Status Report - 12/2/21
- Scheduling Order - 3/15/22
- Consent Motion to Stay All Louisiana Supreme Court Elections - 5/2/22
- Order Granting Motion to Stay - 5/4/22
- Motion to Intervene - 6/29/22
- Intervenors' Motion for Expedited Hearing on Motion to Intervene and Motion to Partially Lift Consent Stay Order - 6/29/22
- Amended Motion to Intervene and for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction to Maintain the Status Quo - 7/5/22
- Notice of Joinder by John L. Weimer as Intervenor Candidate to Earlier-Filed Motion to Intervene and Motion to Modify Consent Stay - 7/5/22
- Intervenors' Emergency Request for Expedited Zoom Hearing on Amended Motion to Intervene and for Temporary Restraining Order to Preserve the Status Quo for District Six Candidate Qualifying and November Election Within 72 Hours - 7/5/22
- Motion to Substitute Exhibit 4 to Amended Motion to Intervene and for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction to Maintain the Status Quo - 7/6/22
- Order - 7/7/22
- Plaintiffs' Response to Motion to Intervene - 7/7/22
- State Defendants' Opposition to Motion to Intervene - 7/7/22
- Motion for Leave to File Reply Memorandum - 7/7/22
- Reply Memorandum in Support of Motions to Intervene - 7/8/22
- State of Louisiana's Opposition to Motion for Temporary Restraining Order - 7/8/22
- Motion for Leave to File Reply Memorandum - 7/8/22
- Order Granting Intervention - 7/11/22
- Order Granting Motion for Leave to File Reply Memorandum - 7/11/22
- State of Louisiana's Motion to Clarify - 7/12/22
- Response to State of Louisiana's Motion to Clarify - 7/12/22
- Ruling and Order - 7/13/22
- Consent Motion to Stay and Administratively Close Case - 7/18/22
- Order Granting Consent Motion to Stay - 7/19/22
- Settlement Conference Order - 3/13/23
- Order - 3/27/23
- Order - 6/20/23
- Order - 7/27/23
- Order - 8/8/23
- Status Report - 8/24/23
- Order - 8/28/23
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit - No. 20-90042
- Answer in Opposition to Defendants-Petitioners' Petition for Interlocutory Appeal - 11/16/20
- Order Granting Defendants-Petitioners' Motion for Leave to Appeal from an Interlocutory Order - 11/19/20
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit - No. 20-30734 (Allen v. State of LA)
- Petition for Interlocutory Appeal - 11/24/20
- Exhibits to Petition for Interlocutory Appeal - 11/24/20
- Opening Brief of Defendants-Appellants - 1/13/21
- Original Brief of Plaintiffs-Appellees - 2/12/21
- Reply Brief of Defendants-Appellants - 3/5/21
- Opinion - 9/17/21
- Judgment - 9/17/21
- Mandate - 10/12/21