Louisiana AG asks U.S. Supreme Court to review congressional map

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Office of the Attorney General Liz Murrill filed an appeal to defend Congress’ new maps with the U.S. Supreme Court.

Murrill said he filed an emergency stay request on Friday, May 10.

“The court has asked the other parties to respond by Monday, May 13 at 11 a.m. Eastern Time. We will have to wait and see what the court does after this deadline,” Murrill said in a statement.

On May 8, Louisiana filed a notice appealing a three-judge panel’s ruling against the state’s new congressional maps. A stay was also requested from the Louisiana Supreme Court by voting rights advocates.

The United States District Court, Western District of Louisiana, Monroe Division, denied the joint motion to stay the hearing pending appeal.

In their filing, the state’s attorneys request that the U.S. Supreme Court stay the ruling pending appeal of the lower court’s injunction and relief proceedings by Wednesday, May 15.

A panel of Supreme Court justices said the new map passed by lawmakers could not be used. They ordered that the Louisiana Legislature pass a new map by June 3 or they will construct one themselves.

Murrill and Gov. Jeff Landry want to keep the new maps for this year’s elections. Landry signed a bill creating a second majority-black congressional district in January. The new district would stretch from Baton Rouge to Shreveport.

Louisiana Attorney General Says Congressional Map Will Go to Supreme Court

In a statement released Monday, Murrill said the current map should be implemented and, if not, the maps for the 2022 session should remain in place.

Latest news

For the latest news, weather, sports and streaming videos, visit BRProud.com.