Congressman Carter says Supreme Court ruling "sends Louisiana back to our tarnished history"
Supreme Court stops Judge Dick's ruling and okays Louisiana's GOP-created map which has one majority-Black district out of six despite Blacks making up one-third of the population.
Just one day before a federal judge planned to enact a new congressional map with two majority-Black districts in Louisiana, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a last-minute stay of her ruling
Judge Shelly Dick of the U.S. Middle District Court of Louisiana ruled the map that Republican legislative leaders created was racially gerrymandered. That map features just one majority-Black district and five majority-white districts despite the state having nearly one-third Black population. Lawmakers had until this past Monday, June 20, to submit a map with a second majority-Black district or else the judge would enact a map of her choosing. According to the Louisiana Illuminator, Dick had scheduled a hearing today (June 29) where the plaintiffs were expecting her to enact a new map immediately.
Without explanation from Supreme Court justices, this stay stops the new map and allows the gerrymandered map to be used for this fall’s elections.
On FaceBook, State Senator Cleo Fields posted, “I am very disappointed in the ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court, and it appears that the court has become more political in recent years. Although I am disappointed, as I’ve said all along, we must respect the ruling of the court. We will win on the merits of this case.”
Congressman Troy A. Carter Sr. released the following statement after the Supreme Court released the shadow docket ruling reinstating the “unrepresentative” congressional maps.
“Wars were fought, movements were launched, and constitutional amendments were passed to give every American of every race and gender full citizenship and the right to vote.
“Today, the Supreme Court released a shadow docket ruling that sends Louisiana back to our tarnished history of diminishing and silencing the voices of African Americans.
“It is shameful that the court refused to let the process here in Louisiana play out to draw maps that fairly represent the population of Louisiana.
“We need maps that follow the math and give Black Louisianians their rightful representation in our democratic system. There should be no political gamesmanship when it comes to our representative democracy.
“This Supreme Court is out of control in so many ways, but this and other recent rulings make one thing is clear: It will stop at nothing to silence the voice of Black and Brown voters in the South and across the country.
“Today shows that many of these justices are partisan hacks, loyal not to the Constitution, but to a far-right political agenda.
“We must speak in one voice against the age-old pattern of silencing and diluting Black votes and voices in our democratic system.
“While the forces of injustice may have won this battle we, as we have before, will win the war.”