Opinion ID: 1953344
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Chisom Litigation

Text: The substance of the legislative act, enumerated Act 512 of 1992, was the product of settlement negotiations between all parties involved in lengthy federal litigation that challenged the composition of the Supreme Court of Louisiana as violative of the plaintiffs' rights protected by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the federal constitution and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended. [2] In 1987, Ronald Chisom, four other black plaintiffs, and the Louisiana Voter Registration Education Crusade, filed a complaint on behalf of a class of all black persons registered to vote in Orleans Parish, alleging the method of electing justices from their districtthe first supreme court district, composed of Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines Parishesimpermissibly diluted minority voting strength. The Chisom plaintiffs brought suit against the governor and other state officials seeking a remedy that would have divided the first supreme court district into two districts, one for Orleans Parish and the second for the other three parishes. The United States intervened in support of the Chisom plaintiffs' claims. In a pre-trial ruling, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. Chisom v. Edwards, 659 F.Supp. 183 (E.D.La.1987). The court held the constitutional claims brought pursuant to the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments were insufficient because the complaint did not adequately allege a specific intent to discriminate. Id. at 189. With respect to the statutory claim, the court held that Section 2 is not violated unless there is an abridgment of the minority voters' opportunity to elect representatives of their choice. The court concluded that because judges were not representatives, judicial elections were not covered by Section 2. Id. at 187. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed. Chisom v. Edwards, 839 F.2d 1056 (5th Cir.), cert. denied sub nom. Roemer v. Chisom, 488 U.S. 955, 109 S.Ct. 390, 102 L.Ed.2d 379 (1988). The court recognized that Congress explicitly intended to expand Section 2 coverage by the 1982 Voting Rights Act amendment. Id. at 1061. The panel rejected the argument that the term representatives in the 1982 amendment was intended to constrain Voting Rights Act coverage, id. at 1063; rather, the court construed the amendment as enlarging minority protection against racial discrimination beyond that which the federal constitution provides, concluding the amended Section 2 necessarily embraces judicial elections within its scope. Id. at 1061. In addition to reinstating the plaintiffs' Section 2 claim, the panel revived the constitutional claims dismissed by the district court, finding plaintiffs' contentions that the purpose and effect of this election practice was to dilute, minimize, and cancel the voting strength of black voters in Orleans Parish were sufficient to warrant trial. The case was remanded to the district court after the Supreme Court of the United States denied review. [3] 488 U.S. 955, 109 S.Ct. 390, 102 L.Ed.2d 379 (1988). On remand, the district court conducted a bench trial, ultimately concluding the evidence did not establish a Section 2 violation under the standards set forth in Thornburg v. Gingles, 478 U.S. 30, 106 S.Ct. 2752, 92 L.Ed.2d 25 (1986). [4] The district court also dismissed the constitutional claims. The Chisom plaintiffs and the United States appealed to the Fifth Circuit. [5] While the case was pending therein, the Fifth Circuit, sitting en banc in another Section 2 case, held that judicial elections were not covered under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act as amended. See League of United Latin American Citizens Council No. 4434 v. Clements, 914 F.2d 620 (5th Cir.1990) (en banc) ( LULAC ). [6] Following the en banc decision in LULAC, the court of appeals remanded the Chisom litigation to the district court with directions to dismiss the complaint. Chisom v. Roemer, 917 F.2d 187 (5th Cir.1990). It expressed no opinion on the strength of the plaintiffs' case. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari. 498 U.S. 1060, 111 S.Ct. 775, 112 L.Ed.2d 838 (1991). In granting review, the Court limited its inquiry solely to the question of the scope of coverage under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act as amended. 501 U.S. 380, 390, 111 S.Ct. 2354, 2361, 115 L.Ed.2d 348, 360 (1991). The Court explicitly did not address any question concerning the elements that must be proved to establish a violation of the [Voting Rights Act] or the remedy that might be appropriate to redress a violation if proved. Id. On the merits of Section 2's scope, the Court held that state judicial elections are included within the ambit of Section 2 as amended. Thereupon, the Court reversed and remanded the case for further proceedings. Thus, the case was remitted to the Fifth Circuit where it remained until that court remanded the case to the district court in August 1992 to effectuate settlement. The Fifth Circuit dismissed the appeal in October 1992, noting a Consent Judgment was entered into by all parties and signed by the district court.