Supreme Court declines to intervene in Louisiana congressional map dispute

The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to intervene in a Louisiana congressional map dispute, potentially delaying the implementation of a new map that could create a district that boosts the power of Black voters in the state.

The brief order will come as a disappointment to critics who say conservative-led states are trying to stall court orders requiring new maps that would impact the balance of power in the House of Representatives next fall.

There were no noted dissents.

Liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote a brief concurrence saying she agreed with the court's denial but that the decision was temporary and leaves open the possibility that the court could intervene at a later date.

In June 2022, a district court judge ordered that Louisiana's map - with only one Black-majority district out of six in a state with a 33% Black population - should be redrawn with a second Black-majority district.

After months of litigation, the district court had scheduled a hearing slated to discuss proposals for the new map. But a federal appeals court issued an order canceling that hearing in order to give the state more time to propose new maps.

The NAACP's Legal Defense Fund asked the justices to lift that order, but they declined to do so on Thursday.