Supreme Court rejects civil rights groups’ bid to challenge Louisiana’s GOP-drawn map

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Sonia Sotomayor, Clarence Thomas, John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Elena Kagan, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Ketanji Brown Jackson
FILE – Members of the Supreme Court sit for a new group portrait following the addition of Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, at the Supreme Court building in Washington, Oct. 7, 2022. Bottom row, from left, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito, and Justice Elena Kagan. Top row, from left, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Justice Neil Gorsuch, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Records obtained by The Associated Press show that Supreme Court justices have attended publicly funded events at colleges and universities that allowed the schools to put the justices in the room with influential donors, including some whose industries have had interests before the court. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Supreme Court rejects civil rights groups’ bid to challenge Louisiana’s GOP-drawn map

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The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to permit a federal judge in Louisiana from moving ahead on plans to oversee the drawing of a new state congressional map that could be used in next year’s general election.

The justices rejected an emergency request by civil rights groups who say a Republican-drawn map used in the 2022 midterm election disfavored black voters and likely violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which bars racial discrimination in voting.

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Justice Samuel Alito referred the request to the full court, and there were no public dissents from the decision. Justice Kentanji Brown Jackson concurred, writing a brief opinion in agreement with the outcome.

She wrote, “Nothing in our decision not to summarily reverse the Fifth Circuit should be taken to endorse the practice of issuing an extraordinary writ of mandamus in these or similar circumstances.”

The decision leaves in place a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit that blocked U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick from having a hearing on imposing a court-ordered map.

However, the Supreme Court doesn’t have the final say on this matter, as a separate but similar issue is pending at the appeals court.

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Dick’s preliminary injunction had told the Republican-controlled Louisiana legislator to create two House districts, rather than just one, where black voters would represent the majority of voters. That order was likely believed to have boosted Democrats’ chances of regaining control of the House in next year’s congressional election.

The Supreme Court in June ruled in a gerrymandering case against a Republican-drawn map in Alabama that a lower court had said unlawfully weakened black voters from electing a candidate of their choice by not forming two majority-black districts.

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