Robinson v. Landry
What's at Stake
Robinson challenged the congressional map that Louisiana enacted after the 2020 Census. 老澳门开奖结果 and partners represented Plaintiffs the Louisiana State Conference of the NAACP, Power Coalition for Equity and Justice, and several impacted voters, and argued that the enacted plan violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. In June 2022, the district court found Louisiana's congressional map unlawfully denied Black voters a second district in which Black voters had an equal opportunity to elect their candidates of choice. After appeals, the legislature passed a new map containing two majority Black districts in January 2024.
Summary
On March 30, 2022, the 老澳门开奖结果, 老澳门开奖结果 of Louisiana, the Legal Defense Fund, and Paul Weiss filed an action in federal court on behalf of the Louisiana State Conference of the NAACP, Power Coalition for Equity and Justice, and several individual voters challenging the congressional redistricting plan adopted by the state legislature over the veto of Governor Edwards. The lawsuit argued that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act required the state to add a second congressional district in which Black voters had an equal opportunity to elect their candidates of choice.
On June 6, 2022, after a week-long evidentiary hearing, the district court found that plaintiffs were likely to succeed in proving that Louisiana's congressional map violated Section 2 of the VRA, and granted their motion for a preliminary injunction, prohibiting the state from conducting elections under the challenged redistricting plan and allowing the legislature two weeks to adopt a new plan. Defendants sought to stay the decision in the Fifth Circuit, but the Court denied the stay on June 12, 2022, holding that 鈥減laintiffs have prevailed at this preliminary stage given the record as the parties have developed it and the arguments presented,鈥 and 鈥渢he defendants have not met their burden of making a 鈥檚trong showing鈥欌 of likely success on the merits.鈥 Defendants sought a stay and a writ of certiorari before judgment in the Supreme Court, which the Court granted but held the case in abeyance pending its decision in Allen v. Milligan.
Plaintiffs defended that ruling on appeal in an oral argument before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in October 2023. In November, the 5th Circuit agreed that map is probably discriminatory, but determined it would allow the state Legislature an opportunity to draw its own map.
In June 2023, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and lifted the stay following its decision in Milligan and remanded the case to the Fifth Circuit, where the parties submitted supplemental briefing regarding the impact of Milligan and presented oral argument on October 6, 2023. In November 2023, the Fifth Circuit issued its decision, agreeing that Plaintiffs were likely to succeed on the merits of their VRA claim that the congressional map unfairly dilutes the votes of Black Louisianians, but vacated the prior preliminary injunction on the grounds that there was time for a trial prior to the 2024 midterm elections, and sent the case back to the district court for further proceedings including trial if needed.
The district court set two alternative dates for trial, providing the Louisiana legislature the opportunity to pass a new map first if it desired and giving the plaintiffs time to decide whether to challenge that map. In January 2024, the legislature passed a new map containing two majority Black voting age population districts that satisfied the plaintiffs, and the court thus vacated the trial date.
Legal Documents
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10/19/2023
Order Denying Stay -
10/11/2023
Plaintiffs-Applicants' Reply in Support of Stay Application -
10/10/2023
SOS and AG's Opposition to Stay Application -
09/23/2023
Plaintiffs-Applicants' Stay Application
Date Filed: 10/19/2023
Court: Supreme Court (U.S.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 10/11/2023
Court: Supreme Court (U.S.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 10/10/2023
Court: Supreme Court (U.S.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 09/23/2023
Court: Supreme Court (U.S.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
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12/15/2023
Denial of Petition for En Banc Review -
11/10/2023
Published Opinion and Order -
09/28/2023
Mandamus Order -
09/21/2023
SOS and AG's Reply in Support of Petition for Writ of Mandamus -
09/20/2023
Robinson Plaintiffs' Opposition to Petition for Writ of Mandamus -
09/20/2023
Galmon Plaintiffs' Opposition to Petition for Writ of Mandamus -
09/20/2023
District Court's Response to Petition for Writ of Mandamus -
09/15/2023
SOS and AG's Petition for Writ of Mandamus -
09/06/2023
Robinson Plaintiffs-Appellees' Supplemental Brief -
08/07/2023
Defendants-Appellants' Supplemental Brief -
07/19/2023
Defendants-Appellants' Reply Brief -
06/28/2022
Galmon Plaintiffs-Appellees' Brief -
06/27/2022
Robinson Plaintiffs-Appellees' Brief -
06/21/2022
Defendants-Appellants' Opening Brief -
06/12/2022
Order Denying Stay Motions -
06/10/2022
SOS's Stay Motion -
06/10/2022
Robinson Plaintiffs' Oppositions to Stay Motions -
06/10/2022
Galmon Plaintiffs' Oppositions to Stay Motions -
06/09/2022
Legislative Intervenors' Stay Motion -
06/09/2022
AG's Stay Motion
Date Filed: 12/15/2023
Court: Appeals Court (5th Cir.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 11/10/2023
Court: Appeals Court (5th Cir.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 09/28/2023
Court: Appeals Court (5th Cir.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 09/21/2023
Court: Appeals Court (5th Cir.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 09/20/2023
Court: Appeals Court (5th Cir.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 09/20/2023
Court: Appeals Court (5th Cir.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 09/20/2023
Court: Appeals Court (5th Cir.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 09/15/2023
Court: Appeals Court (5th Cir.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 09/06/2023
Court: Appeals Court (5th Cir.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 08/07/2023
Court: Appeals Court (5th Cir.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 07/19/2023
Court: Appeals Court (5th Cir.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 06/28/2022
Court: Appeals Court (5th Cir.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 06/27/2022
Court: Appeals Court (5th Cir.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 06/21/2022
Court: Appeals Court (5th Cir.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 06/12/2022
Court: Appeals Court (5th Cir.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 06/10/2022
Court: Appeals Court (5th Cir.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 06/10/2022
Court: Appeals Court (5th Cir.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 06/10/2022
Court: Appeals Court (5th Cir.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 06/09/2022
Court: Appeals Court (5th Cir.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 06/09/2022
Court: Appeals Court (5th Cir.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
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06/06/2022
Order Granting Preliminary Injunction -
05/02/2022
Robinson Plaintiffs' Reply in Support of Motion for Preliminary Injunction -
05/02/2022
Galmon Plaintiffs' Reply in Support of Motion for Preliminary Injunction -
04/29/2022
SOS's Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motions for Preliminary Injunction -
04/29/2022
Legislative Intervenors' Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motions for Preliminary Injunction -
04/29/2022
AG's Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motions for Preliminary Injunction -
04/15/2022
Robinson Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction -
04/15/2022
Galmon Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction
Date Filed: 06/06/2022
Court: District Court (M.D. La.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 05/02/2022
Court: District Court (M.D. La.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 05/02/2022
Court: District Court (M.D. La.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 04/29/2022
Court: District Court (M.D. La.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 04/29/2022
Court: District Court (M.D. La.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 04/29/2022
Court: District Court (M.D. La.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 04/15/2022
Court: District Court (M.D. La.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Date Filed: 04/15/2022
Court: District Court (M.D. La.)
Affiliate: Louisiana
Press Releases
Louisiana Congressional Map with Two Majority-Black Districts Set for 2024 Elections After Supreme Court Issues Emergency Stay
Advocates Applaud Fifth Circuit鈥檚 Denial of State鈥檚 Request for Reconsideration in Robinson v. Ardoin
Fifth Circuit Denies Louisiana's Attempt to Thwart Private Plaintiffs' Right to Sue Under Section 2 of the VRA; Eighth Circuit Panel Decision Remains a Radical Outlier
Black Voters File Emergency Petition to the Supreme Court Asking for Hearing to Select Louisiana鈥檚 New Congressional Map to Proceed
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Delays Hearing to Select New Congressional Map in Louisiana
Supreme Court Lifts Temporary Halt on Federal Lawsuit Challenging Louisiana鈥檚 Discriminatory Congressional Maps聽