The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled 6-3 in favor of South Carolina in a redistricting lawsuit similar to the one Alabama is currently litigating.
The decision reverses a federal court's opinion that a congressional map drawn by South Carolina legislators in 2021 was a racial gerrymander. The state of Alabama is still defending its congressional map approved by legislators in 2021. A special master hired by a three-judge panel in Birmingham redrew the congressional map for the 2024 congressional elections in Alabama after Democrats and liberal groups were successful in their initial legal challenge. The issue is still being litigated.
“The cases are different, but for the panel to rule against Alabama again it will have to make similar errors to the ones the Supreme Court says the court in South Carolina committed,” Adam Kincaid, executive director of the National Republican Redistricting Trust, told 1819 News on Thursday.
House Pro Tempore Chris Pringle (R-Mobile) said his attorney was still reviewing the SCOTUS decision released on Thursday.
“As usual, the court muddied the waters, but I think on first blush it definitely does not hurt us,” Pringle told 1819 News on Thursday.
Alabama Attorney General Marshall filed a brief with the Supreme Court in support of South Carolina. The brief noted that everyone agreed South Carolina’s Republican-majority legislature had a partisan goal and partisan data to pursue it. The brief then argued that the district court clearly erred by presuming the legislature acted in bad faith to draw districting lines based on race, not party.
“The Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized that redistricting is difficult and is exclusively the responsibility of the States,” Marshall said. “Federal courts should not assume that Republican legislators are up to no good when they adopt a redistricting plan that does not give away political power to Democrats. Doing so invites partisans — in the words of today’s decision — 'to seek to transform federal courts into weapons of political warfare that will deliver victories that eluded them in the political arena.’ The Supreme Court’s decision should help cut down on such baseless and divisive accusations.”
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email caleb.taylor@1819News.com.
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