“Our duty of candor requires, requires us to give the court our honest answer to that question,” Louisiana Solicitor General Benjamin Aguiñaga, said. “The race-based redistricting that you’re now objecting to is redistricting designed to remedy a specific identified, proved violation of law.”

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

#Kavanaugh *again* comes back to the question of whether the country might come to a point where it no longer needs to take #race into account when drawing voting districts.

Aguiñaga, the Louisiana solicitor general, essentially argues that we’re there already [oh really?]:

“I think the warning bells have been sounding for decades, & I think that’s a long enough notice for anybody involved.”

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

In an animated discussion to close up Aguiñaga’s arguments, Justice #Jackson asked him to specify where in §2 another minority district was laid out as a potential solution.

As the #Louisiana solicitor general repeatedly referenced prior court interpretation of §2 as seeking to settle matters of “racial injustice,” Jackson interjected to note that such cases were “so tied up w/race because that’s the initial problem.”

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

“It is a separate question as to how we go about remedying that, & the extent to which we need to use #race as a remedy,” Justice #Jackson added. “That’s the question we’re here on today.”

Up next is attorney Edward Greim for Phillip Callais & other #white #Louisiana voters.

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

Earlier, Justice #Kavanaugh gave #Louisiana’s lawyer an opportunity to push back on the #NAACP lawyer’s warning of “catastrophic” implications if the court strikes down §2 & the possibility that none of Louisiana’s 6 congressional districts would be majority-minority.

The state’s lawyer says, “I don’t know what our legislature would do,” but adds, “I don’t think the sky is going to fall.”

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

Edward D. Greim, a partner at the Kansas City firm Graves Garrett Greim, who is representing the #white voters from #Louisiana who challenged the map, urges the justices to act in time to allow new maps in the #2026election. [of course he does]

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

I think the biggest problem with this guy‘s argument is that he is continuously arguing that all #Black people vote #Democrat in #Louisiana and that’s just bullshit. He’s saying that because all Black people vote Democrat then you don’t need a separate test for racial redistricting & political redistricting they’re exactly the same is his argument, but sorry that’s just bullshit.

This is his Gingles / Robinson argument.
#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

This was Hashim Mooppan representing the #Trump administration in support of #Louisiana & #white voters arguing all #Black people vote #Democrat

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights #ActivistCourt #WhiteSupremacy

One factor courts consider in deciding whether states need to re-draw their maps is whether people tend to vote together, the trend referred to as “racially polarized voting.”

It’s part of how judges decide whether minority voters can cast their ballots for a candidate of their choice.

Mooppan argues that #Louisiana voters didn’t have big differences by #race, so the districts were drawn instead with #politics in mind – something #SCOTUS has said is fine.

#law #VotingRights #ActivistCourt

Mooppan, #Trump administration’s lawyer calls the voting map in #Louisiana a “reverse partisan gerrymander” based on race because #Black voters in the state overwhelmingly back #Democratic candidates. He suggests that in a #Republican-dominated state like #WestVirginia, white #Democrats do not get congressional districts drawn to give them an opportunity to elect their candidates of choice [cuz the Trump admin really cares about white Dems🙄]

#SCOTUS #law #VotingRights #VRA #CivilRights