The Supreme Court gifted Republicans another partisan political advantage Monday, deviating from its normal procedure by immediately certifying last week’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais and sending it back to the lower court, rather than waiting the usual 32 days under its own rules. The court offered no real explanation for its ruling.
Accelerating the usual timing will make it easier for Louisiana to redraw its House district maps to eliminate at least one of its two majority-Black districts before the midterm elections.
It also added insult to injury, as the Roberts Court has been wildly inconsistent in applying its own principle that federal courts should not intervene in redistricting cases too close to elections. In this case, the court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais came after mail-in voting in the House primary elections were already under way. The new special dispensation for Louisiana came after its Republican governor suspended the House primaries in order to redraw the districts in light of Louisiana v. Callais.
The court’s procedural decision prompted a heated dissent from Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who noted the court had made a similar decision only two other times in the least 25 years:
Partisan Hackery Destroying the Voting Rights Act wasn’t enough. The Supreme Court...
talkingpointsmemo.com
On the whole, I think it's remarkable to see the restraint we've seen among the justices given the hyper partisan rulings that are becoming more commonplace. Which is not to say that haven't been deviations from past practices. Sotomayor apologized to Kavanaugh recently for her remarks suggesting he was ignorant of the ramifications of his concurrence on an immigration case due his privileged life. His being one of the least egregious reasons for criticisms of the conservatives on the Court. Not so the gutting of Sec. 2 of the VRA which was atrocious on its face.
For context............
Voting rights groups sue as Louisiana suspends congressional primaries
Advocates claim postponing elections in the wake of a landmark Supreme Court ruling creates mass confusion for voters, including tens of thousands who have already cast early or absentee ballots.
courthousenews.com