The good news is that the Supreme Court is evidently not going to embrace Alabama’s implausible reading of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
The bad news is that they are likely to come up with a reading that will present more barriers to the enforcement of Section 2.
Now while I agree with a substantial majority of the current court’s jurisprudence, we part ways at the Voting Rights Act.
The Supreme Court should never have stayed the judgement of the three Judge district court panel.
Instead, it should have simply summarily affirmed the judgement of the three Judge district court panel which was entirely consistent with long standing Supreme Court precedent and entirely consistent with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
So while their likely judgement in this case won’t be a total disaster, neither will it be helpful and it is clearly unnecessary.
The Chief Justice dissented from the original application for a stay. Hopefully, one of the other conservative Justices will switch positions and the District Court will be upheld. Probably won’t see a decision in this case until well into 2023.
However, after reviewing oral arguments, they clearly are not going to embrace Alabama’s reading.
Link to Opinion of the Court in ALLEN, ALABAMA SECRETARY OF STATE, ET AL. v. MILLIGAN ET AL.
Held: The Court affirms the District Court’s determination that plaintiffs demonstrated a reasonable likelihood of success on their claim that HB1 violates §2.
ROBERTS, C. J., delivered the opinion of the Court, except as to Part III–B–1. SOTOMAYOR, KAGAN, and JACKSON, JJ., joined that opinion in full, and KAVANAUGH, J., joined except for Part III–B–1. KAVANAUGH, J., filed an opinion concurring in all but Part III–B–1. THOMAS, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which GORSUCH, J., joined, in which BARRETT, J., joined as to Parts II and III, and in which ALITO, J., joined as to Parts IIA and II–B. ALITO, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which GORSUCH, J., joined.
What this essentially means is that Alabama is going to have to draw a map that will produce a second black district.
Glad to see that at least Roberts and Kavanaugh are not willing to bury Section 2.
“Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh flipped sides in a pivotal voting rights case, ruling on Thursday that Alabama district maps that diluted Black votes violated the Voting Rights Act”
Kavanaugh flipped, its as simple as that.
VRA alive and well thanks to the majority of justices.
