WASHINGTON —The Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral argument in Merrill v. Milligan on Tuesday concerning Alabama’s persistent failure to develop maps that would give Black voters an equal opportunity to vote for candidates of their choosing in the state’s elections. Merrill could have grave consequences for the future of voting rights. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, filed an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs. The following is a statement from Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law:
“The State of Alabama had the obligation – under settled legal standards – to create an additional Black majority district, but refused to do so, robbing Black voters of their right to participate equally in the political process. If the Court accepts Alabama’s argument, it will be rejecting 40 years of precedent and effectively telling voters of color that the Voting Rights Act provides no remedy for racial discrimination in the redistricting process. Such a decision will further neuter the Voting Rights Act, which has for decades helped to ensure that Black voters and other voters can exercise political power and self-determination in choosing their representatives.”
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About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law–The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to mobilize the nation’s leading lawyers as agents for change in the Civil Rights Movement. Today, the Lawyers’ Committee uses legal advocacy to achieve racial justice, fighting inside and outside the courts to ensure that Black people and other people of color have the voice, opportunity, and power to make the promises of our democracy real. For more information, please visit https://lawyerscommittee.org
