In That Case: Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP
In the Public Interest is excited to continue its second annual miniseries examining notable decisions recently issued by the US Supreme Court. In this episode, co-host Felicia Ellsworth is joined by Deputy Director for the...more
Every ten years, states conduct a redistricting process to redraw state and congressional boundary lines for the selection of elected representatives. Due to its politically thorny nature, this process unsurprisingly results...more
On May 23, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, No. 22-807. The Court held that the finding of a three-judge district court panel that race was predominant in the...more
On November 29, 2023, the Supreme Court of New Hampshire decided Brown v. Secretary of State, a 3–2 decision that held that partisan gerrymandering (the act of drawing voting districts in a way that favors one political party...more
In the wake of this decade’s initial redistricting cycle, judicial elections in several states have prompted courts in those states to reconsider their previous decisions on U.S. House district boundaries and composition. As...more
On June 27 in Moore v. Harper, a 6-3 majority of the United States Supreme Court upheld a state court’s power to invalidate a congressional district map that violates the state’s constitution. In an opinion written by Chief...more
On June 27, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Moore v. Harper, No. 21–1271, holding that the Elections Clause of the United States Constitution does not preclude state courts from reviewing state...more
On June 27, 2023, the United States Supreme Court upheld a decision by North Carolina’s highest court holding that the North Carolina legislature went too far in gerrymandering voting district maps. The Court affirmed the...more
On June 8, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Allen v. Milligan, Nos. 21-1086 & 21-1087, holding that Alabama’s redistricting plan adopted for the 2022 congressional elections likely violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights...more
For 57 years, the Voting Rights Act has served as a remarkably effective bulwark against state-level attempts to restrict voting rights, particularly for Black and minority voters. But voting rights are under attack in state...more
On Monday, March 7, 2022, the United States Supreme Court allowed court-drawn maps to stand for the upcoming 2022 midterm elections in North Carolina. In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court denied an application for emergency...more
On February 7, 2022, the Ohio Supreme Court invalidated the state House and Senate district boundaries that were recently adopted by the Ohio Redistricting Commission. The majority, in a per curiam decision, ruled that the...more
On January 14, 2022, the Ohio Supreme Court invalidated the state’s newly redrawn congressional districts. In a 4-3 vote, mirroring the earlier decision invalidating the State House and Senate Districts, Justice Michael...more
Tennessee lawmakers reconvened on January 11 in Nashville for the second session of the 112th General Assembly. While the start of the 2021 session was notable due to COVID-19 mitigations that included limited access to...more
Redistricting in North Carolina tends to be contentious and litigious, and the process so far this year has been no exception. The legislature approved new maps, only to see candidate filing halted by the North Carolina Court...more
With some tricks and treats of their own, the General Assembly (sort of) adjourned for the year on Halloween. However, the break won’t last long. The General Assembly will be back in less than two weeks to redraw...more
In our second annual SCOTUS review, Akin Gump Supreme Court and appellate practice co-head Pratik Shah analyzes the Court’s previous Term and previews the new Term. Among the topics covered: • SCOTUS decisions on census...more
A landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision coming out of a North Carolina case was released on Thursday with profound impacts on how legislative and Congressional districts may be drawn. Also on Thursday, the House and Senate...more
Late last week, the Supreme Court issued a ruling in two cases concerning the constitutionality of political gerrymandering: Rucho v. Common Cause, a case arising out of North Carolina, and Lamone v. Benisek, arising out of...more
The legislative pace has picked up a bit in Raleigh, with committees taking up more legislation than in the last few weeks. On the other hand, with a new fiscal year just over two weeks away, budget negotiations between the...more
On June 27, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Rucho v. Common Cause, No. 18-422, holding that claims of partisan gerrymandering present nonjusticiable political questions that cannot be resolved by the federal courts under...more
On June 17, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Virginia House of Delegates v. Bethune-Hill, No. 18-281, holding that the Virginia House of Delegates and its speaker lacked standing to appeal an order...more
While Appropriations committees continued budget briefings, legislative leaders this week announced a target for General Fund spending significantly below the proposal submitted by Governor Cooper. On the floors of the two...more
On March 26, 2019, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two pivotal gerrymandering cases that could either finally open the door to political gerrymandering claims or reject the validity of such claims...more
Today, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in the following case: PDR Network, LLC v. Carlton & Harris Chiropractic Inc., No 17-1705: Whether the Hobbs Act required the district court in this case to accept the Federal...more