Judges hear arguments on whether case should stay open over Louisiana’s remaining majority-minority district

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) - Federal judges in Shreveport heard arguments on whether a case related to Louisiana’s congressional maps should remain open. The Supreme Court previously ruled that a second majority-minority district drawn based on race was unconstitutional.

The outcome does not affect the map used for this year’s midterm elections. Advocates say leaving the case open could lead to challenges against Louisiana’s remaining majority-minority district.

What the hearing covered

The arguments came during a motion to dismiss hearing in Callais v. Landry. Judges heard from lawyers representing voters who are considering a challenge to Louisiana’s current congressional map. The map has one majority-minority district.

One side argued there could be room to explore whether violations exist in the remaining majority-minority district. The other side said the terms have already been satisfied and that a new claim should be filed in a separate lawsuit.

Arguments for dismissal

Attorneys from the Legal Defense Fund and the state of Louisiana argued there is no active violation. They also argued that attorneys representing Callais, who resides in District 2 under the current map, must bring new evidence in a new lawsuit if they have a complaint about potential gerrymandering based on race.

“Today we argued that this case should be dismissed. The plaintiffs have achieved their success on all of their claims,” said Sara Rohani, an attorney with the Legal Defense Fund. “And what they’re trying to do now is just hijack a procedurally improper phase of the case to push forward new claims, to try to take down the second majority Black district.”

Callais attorneys’ plans

Callais’ attorneys said in court they plan to bring “all the proof they can muster” on Dec. 15 if they decide to move forward with any complaints regarding District 2. District 2 is the only remaining Black-majority district in Louisiana.

According to Callais’ attorneys, part of that proof could be new data they analyze after the midterm election. They did not present any new complaints related to District 2 at the hearing.

Reaction outside the courthouse

Voters, lawyers and members of the POWER Coalition held a press conference outside the federal courthouse after the hearing.

“We’re not here because the United States Supreme Court simply eliminated one Black opportunity district. We are here because they are coming for the only one that we have left,” said Nora Ahmed, legal director of the ACLU of Louisiana.

Press Robinson, the lead plaintiff in Robinson v. Callais, said any potential challenges could have effects across the country.

“It’s going to affect the political process, not only at every level of the political process, but all throughout this country. This is big, y’all. This is really, really big,” Robinson said.

Next court date

The next court date is Dec. 15.

KSLA reached out to attorneys representing Callais for a statement and has not received a response.