Overview

• Oral arguments are set for Oct. 15 in Louisiana v. Callais after the Court ordered new briefing on whether intentionally creating a second majority‑Black district violates the Fourteenth or Fifteenth Amendments.
• Louisiana, led by Attorney General Elizabeth Murrill, has abandoned its prior defense of the map and, joined by the Trump Justice Department, urges the Court to restrict or invalidate race‑based redistricting remedies under the Voting Rights Act.
• A three‑judge federal panel ruled in April 2024 that District 6 in the legislature’s 2024 plan (SB 8) was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander and barred the state from using the map in future elections.
• Analysts warn that weakening Section 2 could reduce protections for majority‑minority districts nationwide, jeopardize state voting‑rights statutes, and potentially affect control of the U.S. House.
• The second round of arguments—an uncommon step previously seen before major shifts such as Citizens United—places Chief Justice John Roberts at the center of a potential reworking of voting‑rights doctrine.