The U.S. Supreme Court has lifted a stay on the closely watched challenge to the state’s congressional districts, allowing it to move to an appeals court where the state will seek to overturn a ruling that required the Republican-led Legislature to add another majority-Black district, our media partners at The Advocate report.
Attorney General Jeff Landry’s office, which is defending the state in the racial gerrymandering case, had argued the court should take up the case, even after the court ruled in favor of Black voters in Alabama in a similar case earlier this month. Still, the top court sent the case back to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which will hear the case ahead of the 2024 congressional elections, the newspaper reports.
KATC reached out to Landry for comment Monday, but he hasn't replied.
The case was appealed because a federal judge in Baton Rouge had ordered the legislature to redraw the districts to include another majority-Black district. The move isn't unexpected, given a Supreme Court ruling earlier this summer.
"The impact on Acadiana is that we could be split up in some areas, the jury is still out on the exact details," Sen. Gerald Boudreaux, a Democrat leader in the Louisiana Black Caucus representing District 24, told KATC. "All we know is when we look at the state, we will be gaining another congressional seat."
To read The Advocate's full story, click here.
