CASE SUMMARY

On December 15, 2022, a coalition of community and civil rights organizations and Miami voters filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Miami alleging the Miami City Commission’s new redistricting plan was racially gerrymandered in violation of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. They sought a judicial declaration that the plan was unconstitutional, a preliminary and permanent injunction barring the plan from use in future elections, and for the court to order special elections be held in the event relief was not available prior to the next scheduled election.

  • On May 23, 2023, the district court granted the plaintiffs’ expedited request for a preliminary injunction, barring the plan from use in the November 2023 election. The court also ordered the parties to enter into supplemental mediation which ended at an impasse on June 13.
  • On June 29, 2023, the City passed a new redistricting plan to replace the enjoined one and plaintiffs filed objections to the new plan soon after.
  • On July 30, 2023, the district court sustained the plaintiffs’ objections and ordered one of the plaintiffs’ proposed plans be used in the interim for the 2023 election. The City appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit the next day.
  • On August 4, 2023, the Eleventh Circuit granted the City’s emergency motion for a stay citing the Purcell principle, thereby allowing the City’s replacement plan to be used in the 2023 election. The plaintiffs sought an emergency stay from the U.S. Supreme Court, which was denied on August 17, 2023.

CASE LIBRARY

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Miami Division - No. 1:22-cv-24066

United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit - 23-11854

United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit - 23-12472

Supreme Court of the United States - 23A116

Grace, Inc. v. City of Miami
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