Breaking News

Abbott v. Perez

Consolidated with:

Docket No. Op. Below Argument Opinion Vote Author Term
17-586 W.D. Tex. Apr 24, 2018 Jun 25, 2018 5-4 Alito OT 2017

Holding: The district court disregarded the presumption of legislative good faith and improperly reversed the burden of proof when it required the state to show a lack of discriminatory intent in adopting new districting plans; one of the challenged state house districts is an impermissible racial gerrymander.

Judgment: Reversed and remanded, 5-4, in an opinion by Justice Alito on June 25, 2018. Justice Thomas filed a concurring opinion, in which Justice Gorsuch joined. Justice Sotomayor filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, and Kagan joined.

DateProceedings and Orders (key to color coding)
Oct 17 2017Statement as to jurisdiction filed. (Response due November 20, 2017)
Oct 17 2017Appendix of Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas, et al. filed.
Nov 20 2017Motion to dismiss or affirm and supplemental appendix filed by appellees Eddie Rodriguez, et al.
Nov 20 2017Brief amici curiae of States of Louisiana, Alabama, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, and Wisconsin filed.
Dec 04 2017Reply of appellants Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas, et al. filed.
Dec 20 2017DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/5/2018.
Jan 08 2018DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/12/2018.
Jan 12 2018Further consideration of the question of jurisdiction is POSTPONED to the hearing of the case on the merits. Further consideration of the question of jurisdiction in No. 17-626 is postponed to the hearing of the case on the merits. The cases are consolidated and a total of one hour is allotted for oral argument.
Jan 12 2018Because the Court has consolidated these cases for briefing and oral argument, future filings and activity in the cases will now be reflected on the docket of No. 17-586. Subsequent filings in these cases must therefore be submitted through the electronic filing system in No. 17-586. Each document submitted in connection with one or more of these cases must include on its cover the case number and caption for each case in which the filing is intended to be submitted. Where a filing is submitted in fewer than all of the cases, the docket entry will reflect the case number(s) in which the flings is submitted; a document filed in all of the consolidated cases will be noted as “VIDED.”
Jan 30 2018Joint motion for divided argument and enlargement of time for oral argument filed by appellees. VIDED
Jan 31 2018Joint Blanket Consent filed by appellees, Shannon Perez, et al., and appellees, Mexican American Legislative Caucus, filed. VIDED
Feb 01 2018Blanket Consent filed by appellants, Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas, et al. VIDED
Feb 02 2018Application (17A825) for leave to file appellants' brief on the merits and the reply brief on the merits in excess of the word limits, submitted to Justice Alito. VIDED
Feb 06 2018Application (17A825) granted by Justice Alito for leave to file appellants' brief on the merits and the reply brief on the merits in excess of the word limits. VIDED
Feb 23 2018SET FOR ARGUMENT on Tuesday, April 24, 2018. VIDED
Feb 26 2018Joint appendix filed. VIDED
Feb 26 2018Brief of appellants Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas, et al. filed. VIDED.
Feb 26 2018Brief of appellee United States in support of appellants filed. VIDED.
Mar 05 2018Brief amici curiae of States of Louisiana, Alabama, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, and Wisconsin filed. VIDED. (Distributed)
Mar 07 2018CIRCULATED
Mar 23 2018Motion for divided argument filed by the Solicitor General. VIDED.
Mar 28 2018Brief of appellees Perez, et al. (State House Districts) filed (No. 17-626). (Distributed)
Mar 28 2018Brief of appellees Perez, et al. (Congressional Districts) filed (No. 17-586). (Distributed)
Apr 04 2018Brief amici curiae of Common Cause and The Voting Rights Institute filed. VIDED. (Distributed)
Apr 04 2018Brief amici curiae of Campaign Legal Center; Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. filed. VIDED. (Distributed)
Apr 13 2018Motion of the Solicitor General for divided argument and the motion of appellees for enlargement of time for oral argument and for divided argument are granted, and the time is divided as follows: 25 minutes for appellants, 10 minutes for the Solicitor General in support of appellants, 15 minutes for appellees in No. 17-586, and 20 minutes for appellees in No. 17-626.
Apr 17 2018Reply of appellee United States in support of appellants filed. VIDED. (Distributed)
Apr 17 2018Reply of appellants Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas, et al. filed. VIDED. (Distributed)
Apr 24 2018Argued. For appellants: Scott A. Keller, Solicitor General of Texas, Austin, Tex. For appellee United States in support of appellants: Edwin S. Kneedler, Deputy Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. For appellees in 17-586: Max Renea Hicks, Austin, Tex. For appellees in 17-626: Allison J. Riggs, Durham, N. C. VIDED
Jun 25 2018Judgment REVERSED, and case REMANDED. Alito, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Kennedy, Thomas, and Gorsuch, JJ., joined. Thomas, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which Gorsuch, J., joined. Sotomayor, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Ginsburg, Breyer, and Kagan, JJ., joined. VIDED. (No. 17-626, Judgment REVERSED IN PART, AFFIRMED IN PART, and case REMANDED).
Jul 27 2018JUDGMENT ISSUED.