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
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
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
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
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
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
The Supreme Court of the United States issued two decisions today: Ohio v. American Express Co., No 16-1454: American Express (Amex), like all credit-card companies, operates a transaction network that serves two groups:...more
The Supreme Court of the United States issued five decisions today: Gill v. Whitford, No. 16-1161: Twelve Democratic voters in Wisconsin brought a complaint claiming that the state redistricting done under Act 43 was a...more
During the current term, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two redistricting cases involving claims of partisan gerrymandering. Now, commentators, observers and map-drawers across the country are waiting to see...more
On January 27, 1998, the Winston-Salem Journal featured an article discussing the lack of competitive Congressional races in North Carolina. John Hoeffel, Six Incumbents Are a Week Away From Easy Election, Winston-Salem...more
In Wisconsin, legislative assembly elections are like Alice – they’re through the looking glass. After redistricting in 2011, Wisconsin Republicans lost the popular vote for legislative seats with only 49% of the votes cast....more
The U.S. Supreme Court has taken the extraordinary step of finding that two of North Carolina's congressional districts violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment because they impermissibly utilized race as the...more
On May 22, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Cooper v. Harris, No. 15-1262, holding that a three-judge district court panel did not err in concluding that race furnished the predominant rationale for North Carolina’s...more
On May 23, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Wittman v. Personhuballah, No. 14-1504, holding that Members of Congress from Virginia did not have standing to challenge a district court’s order finding a redistricting plan...more
The U.S. Supreme Court last week reversed a federal three-judge panel in Alabama that upheld the state’s legislative district map against a racial gerrymandering challenge. Alabama Legislative Black Caucus v. Alabama...more