
Thomas v. Merrill and Milligan v. Merrill
What's at Stake
Individual voters joined with civil rights and faith groups on Nov. 15, 2021, to file a pair of lawsuits in federal court challenging Alabama’s newly drawn political maps for state legislative and congressional districts.
Summary
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Individual voters joined with civil rights and faith groups on Nov. 15, 2021, to file a pair of lawsuits in federal court challenging Alabama’s newly drawn political maps for state legislative and congressional districts.
The lawsuits cite Alabama’s “sordid record” of its white majority using racial discrimination to maintain power. The suits charge that the newly drawn congressional redistricting map denies Black residents equal opportunity to participate in the political process and elect candidates of choice, and that both the congressional and state legislative maps result from racial gerrymanders that intentionally pack and crack Black communities in the state, which denies such communities equal protection of the laws.
The cases were brought on behalf of Greater Birmingham Ministries, Alabama State Conference of the NAACP, and several individuals who are being represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Alabama, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), Hogan Lovells LLP, and the firm Wiggins, Childs, Pantazis, Fisher & Goldfarb.
Legal Documents
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11/15/2021
COMPLAINT - Thomas v. Merrill -
11/15/2021
COMPLAINT - Milligan v. Merrill
Date Filed: 11/15/2021
Court: District Court (M.D. Ala.)
Date Filed: 11/15/2021
Court: District Court (M.D. Ala.)
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01/25/2022
ORDER - Milligan PI Ruling
Date Filed: 01/25/2022
Press Releases
Comment on U.S. Supreme Court Ruling in Alabama Redistricting Case
Federal Court Blocks Alabama’s New Congressional Map
Groups Launch Legal Challenges Over Alabama Racial Gerrymandering