Allen v. Milligan
Consolidated with Allen v. Caster (21-1087)
Holding
Plaintiffs demonstrated a reasonable likelihood of success on their claim that the districting plan adopted by the state of Alabama for its 2022 congressional elections likely violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
Judgment
Affirmed, 5-4, in an opinion by John Roberts on Jun 8, 2023. Chief Justice Roberts delivered the opinion of the court, except as to part III-B-1. Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson joined the opinion in full, and Justice Kavanaugh joined except for Part III-B-1. Justice Kavanaugh filed an opinion concurring in all but Part III-B-1. Justice Thomas filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justice Gorsuch joined, in which Justices Barrett joined as to Parts II and III, and in which Justice Alito joined as to Parts II-A and II-B. Justice Alito filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justice Gorsuch joined.
Jan 28, 2022Application (21A375) for a stay or injunctive relief pending appeal, submitted to Justice Thomas.Jan 28, 2022Statement as to jurisdiction filed. (Response due March 9, 2022)
Jan 28, 2022Response to application (21A375) requested by Justice Thomas, due by noon on Wednesday, February 2, 2022.
Jan 31, 2022Motion for leave to file amici curiae brief filed by Louisiana, et al. VIDED.Jan 31, 2022Motion for leave to file amicus curiae brief filed by John Wahl, Chairman, Alabama State Republican Executive Committee.Feb 1, 2022Motion for leave to file amicus curiae brief filed by The National Republican Redistricting Trust.Feb 1, 2022Motion for leave to file amici curiae brief filed by United States Representatives from Alabama. VIDED.Feb 1, 2022Motion for leave to file amicus curiae brief filed by Alabama Center for Law and Liberty. VIDED.Feb 2, 2022Response to application from respondents Evan Milligan, et al. filed.Feb 2, 2022Reply of applicants John Merrill, et al. filed.Feb 7, 2022Application (21A375) referred to the Court.
Feb 7, 2022Application (21A375) granted by the Court. The application is treated as a jurisdictional statement (No. 21-1086), and probable jurisdiction is noted. The district court's January 24, 2022 preliminary injunction in No. 2:21-cv-1530 is stayed pending further order of the Court. Justice Kavanaugh, with whom Justice Alito joins, concurring in grant of applications for stay. (Detached opinion). The Chief Justice dissenting from grant of applications for stay. (Detached opinion). Justice Kagan, with whom Justice Breyer and Justice Sotomayor join, dissenting from grant of applications for stays. (Detached opinion).
Feb 22, 2022This case is consolidated with No. 21-1087, and a total of one hour is allotted for oral argument. The question presented in these cases is: Whether the District Courts in these cases correctly found a violation of section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, 52 U. S. C. §10301.
Feb 22, 2022Because 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. 21-1086. Subsequent filings in these cases must therefore be submitted through the electronic filing system in No. 21-1086. 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 filing is submitted; a document filed in all of the consolidated cases will be noted as “VIDED.”
Mar 1, 2022Joint motion of the parties for an extension of time file the briefs on the merits. VIDED.Mar 4, 2022Motion to modify or amend the question presented filed by appellees and respondents. VIDED.Mar 8, 2022Joint motion of the parties to extend the time to file the briefs on the merits granted. The time to file the joint appendix, appellants', and petitioners' briefs on the merits is extended to and including April 25, 2022. The time to file appellees' and respondents' briefs on the merits is extended to and including July 11, 2022. VIDED.
Mar 8, 2022Application (21A493) of appellants/petitioners for leave to file consolidated opening and reply briefs on the merits, submitted to Justice Thomas. VIDED.Mar 8, 2022Response of appellants and petitioners to the motion to modify or amend the question presented filed. VIDED.Mar 14, 2022Application (21A493) granted by Justice Thomas for leave to file consolidated opening and reply briefs on the merits provided that the opening brief does not exceed 18,000 words and the reply brief does not exceed 10,000 words. VIDED.
Mar 21, 2022Upon consideration of the motion to modify or amend the question presented, the question presented in these cases is amended as follows: Whether the State of Alabama’s 2021 redistricting plan for its seven seats in the United States House of Representatives violated section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, 52 U. S. C. §10301. VIDED.
Mar 30, 2022Blanket Consent filed by Respondent, Marcus Caster, et al.Mar 30, 2022Blanket Consent filed by Respondent, Evan Milligan, et al.Mar 31, 2022Blanket Consent filed by Petitioner, John H. Merrill, Alabama Secretary of State, et al.Apr 25, 2022Joint appendix filed (three volumes). VIDED. (Statement of costs filed)Apr 25, 2022Brief of appellants/petitioners John H. Merrill, Alabama Secretary of State, et al. filed. VIDED.Apr 29, 2022Brief amicus curiae of Public Interest Legal Foundation filed. VIDED.Apr 29, 2022Brief amici curiae of Senator John Braun, et al. filed. VIDED.Apr 29, 2022Brief amicus curiae of Alabama Center for Law and Liberty filed. VIDED.May 2, 2022Brief amicus curiae of American Legislative Exchange Council filed. VIDED.May 2, 2022Brief amicus curiae of Project on Fair Representation filed. VIDED.May 2, 2022Brief amicus curiae of The National Republican Redistricting Trust filed. VIDED.May 2, 2022Brief amici curiae of Citizens United, et al. filed. VIDED.May 2, 2022Brief amicus curiae of John Wahl, Chairman, Alabama State Republican Executive Committee filed. VIDED.May 2, 2022Brief amicus curiae of Singleton Plaintiffs in support of neither party filed. VIDED.May 2, 2022Brief amicus curiae of Lawyers Democracy Fund filed. VIDED.May 2, 2022Brief amicus curiae of Republican National Committee filed. VIDED.May 2, 2022Brief amici curiae of The State of Louisiana, et al filed. VIDED.May 2, 2022Brief amici curiae of United States Representatives from Alabama filed. VIDED.May 2, 2022Brief amicus curiae of America First Legal filed. VIDED.May 2, 2022Brief amicus curiae of Coastal Alabama Partnership filed. VIDED.Jun 14, 2022ARGUMENT SET FOR Tuesday, October, 4, 2022. VIDED.
Jun 22, 2022Record requested from the U.S.D.C. Northern District of Birmingham, Alabama.
Jun 24, 2022Application of Milligan, et al. (21A869) to file appellees' brief on the merits in excess of the word limit, submitted to Justice Thomas.Jun 24, 2022Application (21A871) of Caster, et al. to file respondents' brief on the merits in excess of the word limit, submitted to Justice Thomas.Jun 30, 2022Application (21A869) for leave to file appellees brief on the merits in excess of the word limit granted by Justice Thomas.
Jul 1, 2022Application (21A871) to file respondents' brief on the merits in excess of the word limit granted by Justice Thomas.
Jul 11, 2022Brief of respondents Marcus Caster, et al. filed. VIDED.Jul 11, 2022Brief of appellees Evan Milligan, et al. filed (in 21-1086).Jul 18, 2022Brief amicus curiae of American Bar Association filed. VIDED.Jul 18, 2022Brief amici curiae of Bipartisan Group of Senators and Congressional Staff Member-Supporters of the 1982 Voting Rights Act Amendments and 2006 Voting Rights Act Reauthorization filed. VIDED.Jul 18, 2022Brief amici curiae of Alabama Historians filed. VIDED.Jul 18, 2022Brief amici curiae of Professors Jowei Chen, Christopher S. Elmendorf, Nicholas O. Stephanopoulos, and Christopher S. Warshaw filed. VIDED.Jul 18, 2022Brief amicus curiae of Campaign Legal Center filed. VIDED.Jul 18, 2022Brief amicus curiae of The Brennan Center for Justice filed. VIDED.Jul 18, 2022Brief amici curiae of Computational Redistricting Experts filed. VIDED.Jul 18, 2022Brief amici curiae of Republican Former Governors filed. VIDED.Jul 18, 2022Brief amicus curiae of Professor Travis Crum filed. VIDED.Jul 18, 2022Brief amici curiae of Representative Terri Sewell, et al. filed. VIDED.Jul 18, 2022Brief amici curiae of Local Governments filed. VIDED.Jul 18, 2022Brief amici curiae of District of Columbia, et al. filed. VIDED.Jul 18, 2022Brief amicus curiae of United States filed. VIDED.Jul 18, 2022Brief amicus curiae of Constitutional Accountability Center filed. VIDED.Jul 18, 2022Brief amici curiae of Voting Rights Practitioners filed. VIDED.Jul 18, 2022Brief amici curiae of U.W. Clemon, Fred D. Gray, Henry Sanders, the Alabama Legislative Black Caucus, and Social Science Professors filed. VIDED.Jul 18, 2022Brief amici curiae of UCLA Social Scientists filed. VIDED.Jul 18, 2022Brief amici curiae of Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, et al. filed. VIDED.Jul 18, 2022Brief amicus curiae of National Congress of American Indians filed. VIDED.Jul 18, 2022Brief amici curiae of The Central Alabama Fair Housing Center, et al. filed. VIDED. (Distributed)Jul 18, 2022Motion for divided argument filed by appellees and respondents. VIDED.Jul 18, 2022Motion of the Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae, for divided argument, and for enlargement of time for oral argument filed. VIDED.Jul 18, 2022Brief amici curiae of The Southern Poverty Law Center, et al. filed. VIDED. (Distributed)Jul 18, 2022Brief amici curiae of Press Robinson, et al. filed. (Distributed)Jul 21, 2022CIRCULATED
Jul 22, 2022Application (22A82) to extend the time to file appellants/petitioners consolidated reply brief on the merits from August 10, 2022 to August 24, 2022, submitted to Justice Thomas. VIDED.Jul 29, 2022Application (22A82) granted by Justice Thomas extending the time to file appellants'/petitioners' consolidated reply brief on the merits until August 24, 2022. VIDED.
Aug 22, 2022Motion for divided argument filed by appellees and respondents GRANTED. VIDED.
Aug 22, 2022Motion of the Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae, for divided argument, and for enlargement of time for oral argument GRANTED. VIDED.
Aug 24, 2022Reply of appellants/petitioners John H. Merrill, Alabama Secretary of State, et al. filed. VIDED. (Distributed)Oct 4, 2022Argued. For appellants/petitioners: Edmund G. LaCour, Jr., Solicitor General, Montgomery, Ala. For appellees: Deuel Ross, Washington, D. C. For respondents: Abha Khanna, Seattle, Wash. For United States, as amicus curiae, supporting appellees/respondents: Elizabeth B. Prelogar, Solicitor General,
Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. VIDED.
Jan 26, 2023Notification regarding substitution of party pursuant to S. Ct. R. 35.3 filed. VIDED.Jun 8, 2023Adjudged to be AFFIRMED. Roberts, C. J., delivered the opinion of the Court, except as to Part III–B–1. Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson, JJ., joined that opinion in full, and Kavanaugh, J., joined except for Part III–B–1. Kavanaugh, J., filed an opinion concurring in all but Part III–B–1. Thomas, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Gorsuch, J., joined, in which Barrett, J., joined as to Parts II and III, and in which Alito, J., joined as to Parts II–A and II–B. Alito, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Gorsuch, J., joined. VIDED.
Jun 12, 2023The stays heretofore entered by the Court on February 7, 2022, are vacated. See Allen v. Milligan, 599 U. S. ___ (2023). VIDED.
Jul 10, 2023Judgment issued.Recommended Citation: Allen v. Milligan, SCOTUSblog, https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/merrill-v-milligan-2/