Louisiana v. Callais
608 U. S. 85 (2026) · 4/29/26
Because the Voting Rights Act of 1965, 52 U. S. C. §10301 et seq., did not require Louisiana to create an additional majority-minority district, no compelling interest justified the State’s use of race in creating SB8, and that map is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.
Edition: preliminary print (page proof)
Voices: Syllabus — prepared by the Reporter of Decisions · Louisiana v. Callais Opinion of the Court · Justice Thomas, with whom Justice Gorsuch joins, concurring. · Justice Kagan, with whom Justice Sotomayor and Justice Jackson join, dissenting.
cided April 29, 2026*
These cases concern whether Louisiana's new congressional map is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. In 2022, after the State redrew its congressional districts, a federal judge in Robinson v. Ardoin, 605 F. Supp. 3d 759 (MD La.), held that the 2022 map likely violated § 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, 52 U. S. C. § 10301 et seq., because it did not include an additional majority-black district. But when the State drew a new map, SB8, that contained such a district, the new map was challenged as a racial gerrymander. A three-judge court in Callais v. Landry, 732 F. Supp. 3d 574 (WD…Read it in the reading room ›