US Supreme Court reverses ruling against Mississippi legislative redistricting

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday vacated and remanded a Mississippi legislative redistricting case, sending it back to a lower court for further proceedings in light of its recent decision in Louisiana v. Callais.

Mississippi Today reported that Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the lone dissenter. The order reopens a dispute over whether Mississippi’s legislative maps unlawfully diluted Black voting strength.

Civil-rights advocates had challenged the map on the grounds that it violated voting rights laws. The case had already led to special elections after a federal three-judge panel ruled the map unlawful.

The Court’s action does not resolve the underlying dispute. Instead, it sends the case back to the lower federal court, where the parties will now have to confront the impact of Callais on the Mississippi litigation.

The practical consequences of the remand are not yet clear. It remains to be seen what instructions the lower court will give, whether the state will seek immediate relief, and whether the case will affect district lines before the next election cycle.