Note: The Brennan Center is not a participant in this case.
Case Background
A group of Virginia voters are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether Virginia lawmakers impermissibly used race in creating state legislative districts in 2011.
In 2014, residents of all 12 legislative districts contested the 2011 state house map drawn by Republican political leaders, arguing that the Virginia General Assembly violated the Equal Protection Clause when lawmakers purposefully drew each legislative district with a predetermined racial target of a 55% black voting age population and did so without a Voting Rights Act justification, unconstitutionally packing African-Americans into districts. The state defendants contended that their use of a racial quota was necessary to preserve minority communities’ ability to elect their candidates of choice. The defendants also argued that the plaintiffs’ claims failed because they did not submit an alternative map that showed that the General Assembly could have achieved its neutral goals with a greater racial balance.
A federal three-judge panel agreed with the defendants, and held that race was not a primary consideration in the configuration of 11 of the 12 challenged districts, despite the legislature’s use of 55% black voting age population floor for those districts. The panel ruled that race was a predominant factor in the drawing of one of the state’s African-American districts, but the General Assembly had a compelling interest in using race in order to comply with the Voting Rights Act and did so in a narrowly tailored way. The plaintiffs appealed the court’s decision to the Supreme Court, which held oral argument this past December.
On March 1, 2017, the Supreme Court ruled in a 6–2 decision that the three-judge panel had applied the wrong legal standard to reach its conclusion that race had not predominated in the drawing of the 11 challenged districts. The Court held that the panel had improperly required plaintiffs to show, as a precondition, that a challenged district was inconsistent with traditional redistricting principles. Rather, the Court said plaintiffs in racial gerrymandering cases could establish the predominance through a variety of direct and circumstantial evidence and that, even if a district otherwise complied with traditional redistricting principles, it could still be found unconstitutional if evidence established that race was the primary factor in its creation.
The Court remanded the case to the trial court to re-evaluate the districts under the correct standard.
The three-judge panel held an evidentiary hearing on October 10–12 to consider the parties’ claims on remand. Post-trial briefing concluded on November 22.
On June 26, the court ruled in a 2–1 decision that the eleven challenged state house districts were racially gerrymandered. The court ordered the General Assembly to create a remedial map by October 30.
The defendant-intervenors appealed the court’s decision on the constitutional violation to the Supreme Court on July 6. On January 8, 2019, the Supreme Court declined the defendants’ request to halt the remedial map-drawing process pending the appeal. Oral argument took place on March 18, 2019. On June 17, 2019, the Supreme Court dismissed this appeal from the defendant-intervenors for lack of standing.
On October 18, 2018, the three-judge panel appointed a special master to assist with the remedial map drawing process. On February 14, 2019, the court ordered that the special master’s plan go into effect in time for the 2019 elections. The defendant-intervenors appealed the decision on February 25, 2019. On June 17, 2019, the Supreme Court dismissed this appeal for lack of jurisdiction.
Documents
District Court (2014–2015)
- Complaint (December 22, 2014)
- Virginia House of Delegates Answer to Complaint (February 3, 2015)
- Virginia State Board of Elections Answer to Complaint (February 18, 2015)
- Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint (June 16, 2015)
- Virginia House of Delegates’ Trial Brief (June 19, 2015)
- Virginia State Board of Elections Trial Brief (June 19, 2015)
- Plaintiffs’ Trial Brief (June 29, 2015)
- Intervenors’ Post-Trial Brief (July 20, 2015)
- Plaintiffs’ Post-Trial Opening Brief (July 20, 2015)
- Intervenors’ Post-Trial Reply Brief (July 27, 2015)
- Plaintiffs’ Post-Trial Reply Brief (July 27, 2015)
- Memorandum Opinion (October 22, 2015)
- Order in Favor of Defendants (October 22, 2015)
- Plaintiffs’ Notice of Appeal (October 26, 2015)
U.S. Supreme Court (2015–2017)
- Jurisdictional Statement (November 20, 2015)
- Intervenor-Appellee’s Motion to Dismiss or Affirm (December 22, 2015)
- Reply of Appellants on the Motion to Dismiss or Affirm (December 30, 2015)
- Appellants’ Supplemental Brief (February 22, 2016)
- Appellees’ Supplemental Brief (February 23, 2016)
- Brief of Appellants (September 7, 2016)
- OneVirginia2021 Amicus Brief (September 13, 2016)
- United States Amicus Brief Supporting Vacatur in Part and Affirmance in Part (September 14, 2016)
- Constitutional Accountability Center Amicus Brief (September 14, 2016)
- NAACP and Virginia NAACP Amicus Brief (September 14, 2016)
- Campaign Legal Center, et al. Amicus Brief (September 14, 2016)
- Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Amicus Brief (September 14, 2016)
- Brief of Appellees (October 17, 2016)
- Southeastern Legal Foundation and Center for Equal Opportunity Amicus Brief (October 20, 2016)
- Political Scientists Thomas L. Brunell, et al. Amicus Brief (October 24, 2016)
- National Black Chamber of Commerce and The Hispanic Leadership Fund Amicus Brief (October 24, 2016)
- Appellants’ Reply Brief (November 16, 2016)
- Oral Argument (December 5, 2016)
- Opinion of the Court and Concurring and Dissenting Opinions (March 1, 2017)
District Court (on remand)
- Plaintiffs’ Motion for Expedited Briefing (March 3, 2017)
- Defendants’ Opposition to Motion for Expedited Briefing (March 6, 2017)
- Plaintiffs’ Reply to Defendants’ Opposition to Motion for Expedited Briefing (March 7, 2017)
- Order Denying Plaintiffs’ Motion for Expedited Briefing (March 8, 2017)
- Plaintiffs’ Motion for Briefing (March 30, 2017)
- Order Denying Plaintiffs’ Motion for Briefing (April 6, 2017)
- Defendant-Intervenors’ Statement of Position Regarding Further Proceedings (April 17, 2017)
- Defendants’ Statement of Position (April 17, 2017)
- Plaintiffs’ Statement of Position (April 17, 2017)
- Order (April 21, 2017)
- Defendants’ Response to Parties’ Statements of Position (May 1, 2017)
- Statement of OneViriginia2021 (May 1, 2017)
- Defendant-Intervenors’ Response Brief Regarding Further Proceedings (May 1, 2017)
- Plaintiffs’ Response to Defendant-Intervenors’ Statement of Position (May 1, 2017)
- Order (May 5, 2017)
- Plaintiffs’ Response to Statements of Position re: OneViriginia2021 Amicus Brief (May 8, 2017)
- Defendants’ Response to the Court’s May 5 Order (May 16, 2017)
- Defendant-Intervenors’ Brief in Support of Their Position on the Effect of This Court’s Previous Findings of Law and Fact (May 16, 2017)
- Plaintiffs’ Brief in Support of Highlighted Text (May 16, 2017)
- Order (June 2, 2017)
- Plaintiffs’ Advisory to the Court on Pursuit of Racial Gerrymandering Claims (June 12, 2017)
- Defendant-Intervenors’ Memorandum in Support of Their Motion to Amend the Scheduling Order (July 5, 2017)
- Plaintiffs’ Opposition to Motion for Continuance (July 6, 2017)
- Memorandum Order (July 13, 2017)
- Unopposed Motion to Allow Filing of Second Amended Complaint (August 8, 2017)
- Order Denying Unopposed Motion to Allow Filing of Second Amended Complaint (August 16, 2017)
- Order (September 7, 2017)
- Defendant-Intervenors’ Remand Pre-Trial Brief (September 26, 2017)
- Defendants’ Pre-Trial Submission (September 26, 2017)
- Plaintiffs’ Pre-Trial Brief (September 26, 2017)
- Factual Stipulation (September 27, 2017)
- Order (October 17, 2017)
- Plaintiffs’ Post-Trial Brief (October 30, 2017)
- Defendant-Intervenors’ Remand Post-Trial Brief (November 13, 2017)
- Defendants’ Post-Trial Submission (November 13, 2017)
- Plaintiffs’ Post-Trial Reply Brief (November 22, 2017)
- Memorandum Opinion (June 26, 2018)
- Defendant-Intervenors’ Notice of Appeal (July 6, 2018)
- Defendant-Intervenors’ Motion to Stay Injunction Pending Appeal (July 6, 2018)
- Order (August 8, 2018)
- Order Denying Motion to Stay (August 30, 2018)
- Motion to Alter Judgment (September 10, 2018)
- Brief in Support of Motion to Alter Judgment (September 10, 2018)
- Order (September 11, 2018)
- Defendant-Intervenors’ Brief in Opposition to Motion to Alter Judgment (September 12, 2018)
- Plaintiffs’ Response to Motion to Alter Judgment (September 12, 2018)
- Defendants’ Reply Brief (September 13, 2018)
- Order (September 14, 2018)
- Defendants’ Notice of Proposed Special Master Candidates (September 20, 2018)
- Plaintiffs’ Notice of Proposed Special Master Candidates (September 20, 2018)
- Defendant-Intervenors’ Notice of Proposed Special Master Candidates (September 20, 2018)
- Defendant-Intervenors’ Brief in Opposition to Proposed Special Master Candidates (September 26, 2018)
- Plaintiffs’ Brief in Opposition to Defendant-Intervenors’ Proposed Special Master Candidates (September 26, 2018)
- Defendants’ Brief in Opposition to Defendant-Intervenors’ Proposed Special Master Candidates (September 26, 2018)
- Defendants’ Response to Objections to Proposed Special Master Candidates (September 28, 2018)
- Defendant-Intervenors’ Response to Objections to Proposed Special Master Candidates (September 28, 2018)
- Plaintiffs’ Response to Objections to Proposed Special Master Candidates (September 28, 2018)
- Defendant-Intervenors’ Status Report (October 5, 2018)
- Order Appointing Special Master (October 18, 2018)
- Order Setting Agenda for October 19 Conference (October 18, 2018)
- Order Setting Deadline for Filing Remedial Plans (October 19, 2018)
- Brief in Support of Virginia State Conference of the NAACP Proposed Remedial Plan (November 2, 2018)
- Defendants’ Response to October 19 Order (November 2, 2018)
- Brief in Support of Defendant-Intervenors’ Proposed Remedial Plan (November 2, 2018)
- Brief in Support of Plaintiffs’ Proposed Remedial Plan (November 2, 2018)
- Adjusted Virginia State Conference of the NAACP Proposed Remedial Plan (November 19, 2018)
- Letter from Supreme Court Postponing Question of Jurisdiction (November 26, 2018)
- Supplemental Scheduling Order (November 28, 2018)
- Defendant-Intervenors’ Renewed Motion to Stay Pending Appeal and Motion to Alter Election Schedule (November 28, 2018)
- Emergency Motion to Expedite Briefing (November 28, 2018)
- Order Granting in Part Emergency Motion to Expedite Briefing (November 29, 2018)
- Defendants’ Brief in Opposition to Renewed Motion to Stay Pending Appeal and Motion to Alter Election Schedule (December 5, 2018)
- Plaintiffs’ Brief in Opposition to Renewed Motion to Stay Pending Appeal and Motion to Alter Election Schedule (December 5, 2018)
- Reply in Support of Renewed Motion to Stay Pending Appeal and Motion to Alter Election Schedule (December 6, 2018)
- Report of the Special Master (December 7, 2018)
- Addendum to the Report of the Special Master (December 10, 2018)
- Defendants’ Response to the Special Master’s Report (December 14, 2018)
- Princeton Gerrymandering Project’s Brief in Response to Special Master’s Report (December 14, 2018)
- Defendant-Intervenors’ Response to the Special Master’s Report (December 14, 2018)
- Plaintiffs’ Response to the Special Master’s Report (December 14, 2018)
- Virginia State Conference of the NAACP’s Brief in Response to the Special Master’s Report (December 14, 2018)
- Motion to Amend to Expand June 26 Order (December 17, 2018)
- Second Addendum to the Special Master’s Report (December 28, 2018)
- Third Addendum to the Special Master’s Report (January 4, 2019)
- Plaintiffs’ Supplemental Response (January 4, 2019)
- Virginia State Conference of the NAACP’s Supplemental Response (January 4, 2019)
- Defendant-Intervenors’ Supplemental Response (January 4, 2019)
- Order Denying Motion to Amend (January 8, 2019)
- Fourth Addendum to the Special Master’s Report (January 8, 2019)
- Order Setting Agenda for January 10 Hearing (January 9, 2019)
- Hearing Proceedings Ordering Special Master to Submit Corrections (January 10, 2019)
- Order Requesting Supplemental Chart from Parties (January 10, 2019)
- Parties’ Submission Regarding BVAP Data (January 15, 2019)
- Defendant-Intervenors’ Supplemental Memorandum Regarding Special Master’s Report (January 17, 2019)
- Special Master’s Second Report (January 17, 2019)
- Order (January 22, 2019)
- Special Master’s Final Remedial Plan (January 29, 2019)
- Appendices 2–5 of the Special Master’s Final Remedial Plan (January 29, 2019)
- Interested Party Van Williams’ Objections to Final Remedial Plan (February 1, 2019)
- Defendant-Intervenors’ Objections to Final Remedial Plan (February 1, 2019)
- Plaintiffs’ Response to Final Remedial Plan (February 1, 2019)
- Order for Corrected Report (February 4, 2019)
- Special Master’s Corrected Second Report (February 5, 2019)
- Memorandum Opinion (February 14, 2019)
- Order (February 14, 2019)
- Notice of Appeal (February 25, 2019)
- Order Denying Motion to Intervene (March 5, 2019)
- Motion to Intervene (March 5, 2019)
U.S. Supreme Court (2018)
- Jurisdictional Statement (September 4, 2018)
- State Appellees’ Motion to Dismiss (October 9, 2018)
- Appellees’ Motion to Dismiss or Affirm (October 9, 2018)
- Appellants’ Brief in Opposition to Motion to Dismiss or Affirm (October 23, 2018)
- Appellants’ Brief (December 28, 2018)
- Amicus Brief of Criminal Justice Legal Foundation (January 4, 2019)
- Amicus Brief of Lee Chatfield et. al (January 4, 2019)
- Amicus Brief of American Legislative Exchange Council, Lawyers Democracy Fund, and State Government Leadership Foundation (January 4, 2019)
- Amicus Brief of the United States (January 4, 2019)
- Appellees’ Brief (January 28, 2019)
- State Appellees’ Brief (January 28, 2019)
- Joint Appellees’ Motion for Divided Argument (January 31, 2019)
- United States’ Motion to Participate in Oral Argument as Amicus Curiae and for Divided Argument (February 1, 2019)
- Amicus Brief of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (February 4, 2019)
- Order List (February 19, 2019)
- Appellants’ Reply Brief (February 27, 2019)
- Transcript of Oral Argument (March 18, 2019)
- Audio Recording of Oral Argument (March 18, 2019)
- Opinion (June 17, 2019)
U.S. Supreme Court (defendants’ motion for stay of remedial mapdrawing process)
- Emergency Motion for Stay Pending Resolution of Direct Appeal (December 13, 2018)
- State Appellees’ Brief in Response to Emergency Motion for Stay (December 20, 2018)
- Appellees’ Brief in Response to Emergency Motion for Stay (December 20, 2018)
- Reply Brief in Support of Emergency Motion for Stay (December 21, 2018)
- Order Denying Motion for Stay (January 8, 2019)
U.S. Supreme Court (appeal of remedial order)
- Jurisdictional Statement (February 27, 2019)
- Amicus Brief of National Republican Redistricting Trust (March 15, 2019)
- Amicus Brief of Fair Lines America Foundation, Inc. (March 15, 2019)
- State Appellees’ Motion to Dismiss (April 1, 2019)
- Appellees’ Motion to Dismiss or Affirm (April 1, 2019)
- Brief Opposing Motions to Dismiss or Affirm (April 15, 2019)
- Order (June 17, 2019)