CASE SUMMARY

On February 1, 2022, Florida’s Governor requested an advisory opinion from the Florida Supreme Court interpreting the Florida Constitution’s “non-diminishment” standard under article III, § 20(a) and whether it mandated that Florida’s 5th Congressional District remain in its then-current or a substantially similar configuration. The 5th District, then stretching from hundreds of miles east to west connecting populations of Black voters in Gadsden and Leon Counties, was created in a 2015 decision by the Florida Supreme Court but the Court had neglected to say whether this specific configuration was required by the non-diminishment standard. The Governor asked precisely what the standard did and did not require, including whether it required this configuration despite it not forming a district with a majority-minority population.

  • On February 10, 2022, the Florida Supreme Court issued a per curiam opinion stating they would exercise their discretion to deny the requested advisory opinion, citing the likelihood of any plan challenge inevitably reaching them and the lack of any final plan before them to analyze the complex constitutional questions posed at that time.

CASE LIBRARY

Florida Supreme Court - No. SC22-139