The Supreme Court on Thursday temporarily blocked a federal appeals court ruling that would have barred private citizens and groups from suing under the Voting Rights Act. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch dissented from the decision.
The move grants a temporary reprieve to Native American tribes and individuals in North Dakota who are challenging a state legislative map they argue is discriminatory. The lawsuit was filed under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, a provision that prohibits discriminatory voting practices.
The case reached the Supreme Court after a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit ruled that only the U.S. attorney general, not private parties, could file lawsuits to enforce Section 2. In their emergency appeal, the plaintiffs warned the justices that the 8th Circuit’s position would “knee-cap Congress’s most important civil rights statute,” noting North Dakota’s “long and sad history of official discrimination against Native Americans.”
The stay was issued through the court’s emergency “shadow docket” in a brief, unsigned order that offered no reasoning from the majority or the dissenting justices.
The decision to grant the temporary stay was not entirely unexpected. The 8th Circuit’s interpretation of the Voting Rights Act conflicts with that of other federal appeals courts, creating a split that the Supreme Court may eventually need to resolve. Furthermore, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh have previously sided with the court’s liberal members in key voting rights cases.
While the Supreme Court’s action provides a temporary reprieve for voting rights advocates, the hold is not a final ruling on the merits of the case. The court could still decide to hear the case in full at a later date. For now, however, the 8th Circuit’s restrictive decision is paused.
Source link
