During Thursday's broadcast of Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5's "The Jeff Poor Show," Republican candidate for Alabama attorney general Katherine Robertson discussed long-standing desegregation orders currently impacting school systems in Alabama.
"I think that antiquated court orders and antiquated views of our state are starting to go really out of style with the federal judiciary, at least the United States Supreme Court," argued Robertson.
According to Robertson, the Supreme Court's recent redistricting ruling in Louisiana vs. Callais could apply to decades-old desegregation orders.
"Their logic in the redistricting decision would seem to apply the exact same way with these court orders from the 70s that treat Alabama school systems as if their number one goal is to keep students segregated, which is ridiculous," she stated.
RELATED: Katherine Robertson urges school districts under 'insane' desegregation orders to seek AG support
Fighting desegregation orders can impose a steep cost, but Robertson expects a resolution to them in the near future.
"They have to pay for private attorneys," explained Robertson. "We technically do not represent them, but we can. Given our good relationship with the Justice Department, I think that is something that I really want to see progress, if not total resolution, of before President Trump ends his term."
Robertson has begun formulating a strategy within the AG's office to address complicated desegregation orders.
"We've been having some great conversations about what the strategy would be to move forward and to do it efficiently," she said. "The great thing about the AG's office is our attorneys are salaried; they are not paid by the hour, and so we can be pretty efficient and effective when we do things in-house."
"We're already having some conversations and laying some groundwork to see some progress on that front," added Robertson.
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