The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated a liability order Monday that had required Mississippi to redraw its state Supreme Court districts and remanded the case to U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock, the court said.
The action followed the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, in which the high court struck down a congressional map it said relied too heavily on race and found certain racial gerrymandering practices unconstitutional under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, the Supreme Court said.
Governor Tate Reeves shared the Fifth Circuit’s action on Monday and said, “Post Callais, both the plaintiffs and the State jointly requested this action.” Reeves called the decision “a good day for those who believe in the principle that all Americans are created equal. A good day for law and order. A good day for Mississippi!”
U.S. District Judge Aycock’s earlier order would have redrawn judicial districts established in 1987 to provide greater Black voting strength, a remedy that drew on Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, according to court filings and the earlier district court decision. The Callais decision undercut that legal framework, the U.S. Supreme Court held.
Reeves had said in late April he planned to call lawmakers into a special session 21 days after the Supreme Court ruled in Callais to address state Supreme Court redistricting, a timetable that would have brought legislators back to Jackson next week. Leaders in both the Mississippi House and Senate asked staff attorneys to analyze the Callais ruling’s impact ahead of a likely special session, legislative leaders told the Magnolia Tribune.
With the Fifth Circuit’s vacatur and remand, it is unclear whether Reeves will still summon lawmakers. Messages to the governor’s office were not immediately returned. The Magnolia Tribune reported that the White House and Republican leaders in Mississippi have urged Reeves to include congressional redistricting in any special session, but Mississippi has already held its primary elections, making such a move uncertain, the report said.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
