Case Summary

On June 28, 2018, the NAACP and several Connecticut voters filed a federal lawsuit against Connecticut’s Governor and Secretary of State challenging the state’s legislative redistricting map as violating the 14th Amendment’s one person, one vote requirement by “prison gerrymandering,” meaning the allocation of incarcerated persons as residents of the district where their prison is located rather than the district where they lived prior to incarceration. They sought an injunction barring the maps from use in future elections and a court order requiring new plans using reallocated populations be enacted or otherwise adopted.

  • On February 15, 2019, the district court denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss based on sovereign immunity and jurisdictional grounds. Defendants filed a notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on March 7, 2019.
  • On July 15, 2019, the Second Circuit stayed the lower court proceedings until the defendants’ interlocutory appeal of their motion to dismiss was resolved. Oral arguments before the Second Circuit were held on September 10, 2019.
  • On September 24, 2019, the Second Circuit affirmed the district court’s rejection of sovereign immunity-based dismissal but reversed as to whether the appointment of a three-judge panel was necessary and remanded the case for further proceedings before a three-judge court.
  • On April 16, 2020, the district court dismissed the case upon joint stipulation of the parties.

Case Library

U.S. District Court of the District of Connecticut - 3:18-cv-01094

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit - 19-576