louisiana supreme court
November 18, 2021 -
Voting rights groups have challenged election districts for the Louisiana Supreme Court, which counts just one Black justice among its seven members. Legislators want to add new districts to settle the suit, but their most recent attempt broke down over the issue of how many should have majority-Black populations.
June 15, 2021 -
Federal appellate courts in the Deep South are disproportionately white compared to the region's population, but President Joe Biden has pledged to diversify the courts with his nominations. Efforts to expand the region's mostly white state appellate courts could also lead to more diversity on the bench.
January 14, 2021 -
The Louisiana Supreme Court recently took down a statue of a former judge who fought for the Confederacy and participated in a deadly coup against the Reconstruction-era state government. And in North Carolina, the high court removed a portrait of its former chief justice, a brutal enslaver.
November 6, 2020 -
Conservatives won supreme court races across the South this week. The results could shift Kentucky's high court to the right. The race for North Carolina chief justice is too close to call as mail-in ballots are still being tallied.
August 26, 2020 -
Southern states are holding judicial elections this year that will shape the outcome of critical cases involving voting rights and criminal justice. The elections could also bring unprecedented diversity to courts in some states.
September 25, 2019 -
Elections for high courts in five Southern states will take place over the next year, including special elections in Georgia, Kentucky, and Louisiana. Some of these courts are already facing unprecedented political pressure, and more money in high court races is coming from groups that don't disclose their donors.
February 22, 2018 -
As civil rights groups challenge racially discriminatory judicial elections under the Voting Rights Act, North Carolina legislators are moving forward with a judicial gerrymandering plan that could lead to less racial diversity on the bench.