Case Summary

On June 10, 2019, two non-profits and several Arkansas voters filed a federal lawsuit against the State of Arkansas, the Arkansas Board of Apportionment and its Members, and the Arkansas Board of Election Commissioners alleging the State’s method of electing State appellate judges resulted in the dilution of Black voters’ voting strength in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (“Voting Rights Act”). They sought a court order barring the State from using those methods and for the court to require a new method of election, such as single-member districts or cumulative voting, be implemented.

• On February 21, 2020, the district court granted the State’s motion to dismiss the claims against the State of Arkansas, the Board of Apportionment, and the Board of Election Commissioners as being barred by sovereign immunity.
• On April 10, 2020, the district court stayed discovery in the case due to the coronavirus pandemic but lifted the stay on August 11, 2020.
• A five-day bench trial was held between April 25, 2022, and May 5, 2022.
• On July 25, 2023, the district court issued its decision upholding the State’s election method after finding the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate that it violated Section 2 of the VRA.
• The Plaintiffs filed a motion for reconsideration on August 22, 2023, which remains pending.

Case Library

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas - 4:19-cv-00402

• Complaint - 6/10/19
• Amended Complaint - 6/21/19
• Brief in Support of Defendants' Motion to Dismiss - 8/19/19
• Memorandum of Law in Opposition to Defendants' Motion to Dismiss - 9/13/19
• Brief in Support of Defendants' Motion to Stay Discovery - 11/15/19
• Plaintiffs' Response to Defendants' Motion to Stay Discovery - 11/27/19
• Order - 2/21/20
• Defendants' Response to Plaintiffs' Motion for Amended Scheduling Order and Clarification of the Court's April 10, 2020, Order - 8/6/20
• Order - 8/11/20
• Final Scheduling Order - 8/17/20
• Joint Stipulation - 10/23/20
• Amended Final Scheduling Order - 2/23/21
• Stipulation - 3/19/21
• Plaintiffs' Motion to Compel - 8/6/21
• Attorney General Leslie Rutledge's Response in Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion to Compel - 8/20/21
• Defendants' Motion to Depose Newly Identified Fact Witnesses After the Close of Formal Discovery - 8/20/21
• Plaintiffs' Response to Defendants' Motion to Take Depositions After the Close of Formal Discovery - 8/20/21
• Plaintiffs' Motion to Withdraw Plaintiff Olly Neal - 9/3/21
• Order Granting Motion to Withdraw Plaintiff Olly Neal - 9/3/21
• Plaintiffs' Motion to Exclude the Expert Report - 9/16/21
• Motion for Partial Summary Judgment - 9/16/21
• Memorandum of Law in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion - 9/16/21
• Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment - 9/16/21
• Brief in Support of Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment - 9/16/21
• Plaintiffs' Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion to Exclude - 9/16/21
• Second Amended Final Scheduling Order - 9/30/21
• Defendants' Response in Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion to Exclude the Expert Report & Testimony of Dr. Peter A. Morrison - 10/7/21
• Defendants' Response in Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment - 10/7/21
• Defendants' Response to Plaintiffs' Statement of Undisputed Material Facts - 10/7/21
• Plaintiffs' Response to Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment - 10/7/21
• Plaintiffs' Response in Opposition to Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment - 10/7/21
• Exhibit MM: Analysis of the Statewide Election of the Arkansas Supreme Court - 10/8/21
• Plaintiffs' Reply Memorandum of Law in Support of Their Motion to Exclude the Expert Report and Testimony of Dr. Peter A. Morrison - 10/21/21
• Plaintiffs' Reply in Further Support of Their Motion for Partial Summary Judgment - 10/21/21
• Reply in Support of Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment - 10/21/21
• Status Report - 11/1/21
• Defendants' Pretrial Disclosures - 12/1/21
• Plaintiffs' Pretrial Disclosures - 12/1/21
• Joint Motion for Extension of Time - 12/17/21
• Plaintiffs' Unopposed Motion to Allow Certain Witnesses to Testify as Trial by Contemporaneous Transmission From a Different Location - 12/30/21
• Plaintiffs' Motion to Exclude Certain Portions of Defendants' Deposition Counter-Designations - 12/30/21
• Response in Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion to Exclude Certain Portions of Defendants' Deposition Counter-Designations - 1/5/22
• Joint Report - 1/6/22
• Defendants' Motion to Exclude Evidence and Incorporated Brief - 1/7/22
• Plaintiffs' Opposition to Defendants' Motion to Exclude Evidence and Incorporated Brief - 1/13/22
• Plaintiffs' Motion for Reconsideration of Scheduled Trial Date, Expedited Briefing, and a Conference - 1/14/22
• Order - 1/18/22
• Defendants' Response in Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion for Reconsideration of Scheduled Trial Date - 1/25/22
• Motion for Leave to File Reply in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for Reconsideration - 1/27/22
• Order Denying Motion for Reconsideration - 1/27/22
• Order - 2/2/22
• Joint Stipulations - 4/18/22
• Order - 5/2/22
• Plaintiffs' Exhibit and Witness List - 5/2/22
• Defendants' Exhibit and Witness List - 5/2/22
• Order - 5/6/22
• Plaintiffs' Post-Trial Brief - 5/27/22
• Defendants' Post-Trial Brief - 6/24/22
• Plaintiffs' Post-Trial Reply Brief - 7/8/22
• Plaintiffs' Post-Trial Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law - 7/15/22
• Plaintiffs' Notice of Supplemental Authority - 6/14/23
• Order - 7/25/23
• Judgment - 7/25/23
• Plaintiffs' Motion for Reconsideration of Order and Judgment - 8/22/23
• Plaintiffs' Brief in Support of Motion for Reconsideration of Order and Judgment - 8/22/23
• Notice Regarding Motion for Reconsideration - 9/5/23
• Order - 11/21/23