#SCOTUS sends closely watched #NativeAmerican #VotingRights decision back to lower court
SCOTUS acted in a #VotingRightsAct case brought by Native American tribes on Monday, saying a closely watched ruling needs to be reconsidered after the high court weakened the #CivilRights era #law.
The justices ordered lower courts to take another look at the decision that went against the tribes & undercut a key enforcement mechanism: lawsuits from voters & advocacy groups.
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •Advocacy groups are key players because they bring most of the lawsuits filed under the provision of the #VotingRightsAct known as #Section2.
But in a #NorthDakota case brought by 2 #NativeAmerican tribes, the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that only the #FederalGovernment can sue to enforce the #law.
The decision conflicted with decades of case law. #SCOTUS blocked it in July, allowing the tribes’ preferred maps to temporarily stay in place.
#VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •The appeals court’s finding has nevertheless been cited elsewhere, with #Mississippi making a similar argument in another appeal over its state legislative map. #SCOTUS also sent that case back for reconsideration on Monday.
Justice #KetanjiBrownJackson dissented from the decision, writing that both rulings should have been reversed.
#law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #RepresentationMatters
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •The conservative majority, meanwhile, already diluted enforcement power with an April decision that struck down a majority #Black congressional district in #Louisiana & made future cases much harder to win.
In that case, #SCOTUS’ conservative majority ruled a map relied too heavily on race with a district aimed at giving Black voters a chance to elect a candidate of their choice. The decision effectively limited #VotingRights claims to maps that are intentionally designed to discriminate.
#law
volkris
in reply to Nonilex • • •No, that's not what the SCOTUS ruled.
The ruling emphatically BACKED the ability of voters, including protected minority voters, to elect the candidate of their choice by reinforcing the VRA:
"A §2 plaintiff in a vote dilution case must show that a districting scheme denies members of a racial group the same opportunity as other voters to elect the candidates they prefer."
This was core to their ruling, and it was reinforcing the VRA, relying heavily on it.
What the Court really struck down was a lower court order that imposed an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The lower court was wrong, and this appeal corrected it.