CASE SUMMARY

On March 14, 2022, a coalition of civil rights organizations and Louisiana voters filed a federal lawsuit against Louisiana’s Secretary of State challenging the state’s enacted legislative redistricting plans as diluting Black voters’ voting strength in violation of Section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act (“VRA”). They sought a judicial declaration the enacted legislative plans violated the VRA, a permanent injunction barring the plans from use in future elections, a court order requiring the State to enact new, lawful plans by a certain deadline and for the court to adopt remedial plans if the State failed to do so.

  • On April 12, 2022, the district court consolidated this case with two other pending challenges to Louisiana’s congressional and legislative redistricting plans, Robinson v. Ardoin and Galmon v. Ardoin.
  • On May 17, 2022, the court allowed the State of Louisiana and the Presiding Officers of the Louisiana Legislature to intervene in the case as defendants.
  • On August 30, 2022, the court stayed further proceedings pending the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Allen v. Milligan (then Merrill v. Milligan), a separate case out of Alabama concerning Section 2 of the VRA. SCOTUS issued its Allen decision on June 8, 2023, and the case was reopened shortly thereafter.
  • The district court held a bench trial from November 27 to December 5, 2023.
  • On December 7, 2023, the United States notified the court it would be intervening in the case to defend the constitutionality of Section 2 of the VRA.
  • On February 8, 2024, the district court ruled in favor of plaintiffs and ordered the state to redraw its legislative maps. The state filed its notice of appeal a week later.

Related Cases: Robinson v. Ardoin, Galmon v. Ardoin

CASE LIBRARY

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana - No. 3:22-cv-178 [together with Nos. 3:22-cv-211, 3:22-cv-214]

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit - No. 24-30115