CASE SUMMARY

On November 15, 2021, a coalition of Alabama voters, a Birmingham religious organization, and the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP filed a federal lawsuit against Alabama’s Secretary of State and the Co-Chairs of the Alabama Legislature’s legislative reapportionment committee challenging the State’s enacted legislative plans as violating the U.S. Constitution. They claimed several state Senate and state House districts were racial gerrymanders in violation of the 14th Amendment and sought a judicial declaration the plans were unconstitutional, a permanent injunction barring the plans from being used in future elections, and a court order requiring the State to enact remedial legislative plans that complied with the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act.

  • On March 21, 2022, the district court stayed the case pending the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in two consolidated challenges to Alabama’s congressional plan, Milligan v. Merrill and Caster v. Merrill. The court lifted the stay on June 9, 2023.
  • On July 10, 2023, the plaintiffs filed a third amended complaint adding a claim that the state Senate plan diluted African-American voting strength in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
  • On July 11, 2023, the district court issued an order scheduling trial for October 1, 2024.

Similar Cases: Singleton v. Merrill; Milligan v. Merrill; Caster v. Merrill

CASE LIBRARY

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Southern Division - No. 2:21-cv-1531

Thomas v. Merrill
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