Detroit Caucus v. Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission
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State supreme court
Order denying complaint
Case Information
State court action seeking to have recently-enacted congressional redistricting plans declared unconstitutional based on their potential to dilute the voting power of minority communities.
On Feb. 3, 2022 the state supreme court dismissed the complaint on a vote of 4-3, holding that:
“Plaintiffs have not demonstrated that the Commission’s adopted plans are noncompliant with Const 1963, art 4, § 6(13)(a).”
Article 4 § 6(13)(a) of the state constitution requires the commission to draw maps that “comply with the voting rights act and other federal laws.” On the commission’s choice not to draw more majority-minority districts, the majority opinion held:
“Plaintiffs have not identified grounds or legal authority that would allow us to question the Commission’s decision not to draw race-based, majority-minority districts. That decision was the correct one precisely because there was no “strong basis in evidence” providing “good reason” for the Commission to believe that the three threshold Gingles preconditions were satisfied so as to potentially require race-based district lines in order to avoid liability for vote dilution under § 2 of the VRA.”
History
Case filings, starting with most recent court| Name | Last Modified | ||
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Complaint | Jan 5, 2022 | |
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Commission's Answer | Jan 18, 2022 | |
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Order denying complaint | Feb 3, 2022 |
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Order denying motion to reconsider | Feb 16, 2022 |
