Rucho v. League of Women Voters of North Carolina

Note: The Brennan Center is not a participant in this case.

Case Background

League of Women Voters v. Rucho is the most recent challenge to North Carolina’s remedial congressional map, which was enacted earlier this year. The plaintiffs argue that the map violates the 1st and 14th Amendments and constitutes a partisan gerrymander. 

The three-judge panel hearing the case denied the state’s motion to dismiss on March 3, 2017 and consolidated the case with trial Common Cause v. Rucho. 

On June 26, 2017 the legislative defendants filed a motion to stay the case pending the Supreme Court’s final decision in Gill v. Whitford, which the plaintiffs opposed. The court denied the state’s motion to stay and the trial took place from October 16–19, 2017. 

On January 9, 2018 the court struck down the map as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander and blocked the state from using the plan for future elections. The court directed that the North Carolina legislature be given until January 24 to adopt a remedial plan and directed that any such plan be filed with the court by January 29. Because of upcoming election deadlines, the court also ordered that the parties propose special masters to redraw the map in the event the court rejects any legislatively enacted remedial map. 

On January 11, the legislative defendants filed an emergency motion to stay the remedial map drawing process pending the Supreme Court’s decisions in Gill v. Whitford and Benisek v. Lamone. On January 16, the court denied the defendants’ emergency motion to stay. 

On January 12, the legislative defendants filed an emergency application with the Supreme Court asking the court to stay proceedings at the district court pending appeal. On January 18, the Court issued an order staying the district court’s decision, including the remedial map process, pending appeal. 

On June 25, the Court vacated and remanded the case for further consideration in light of Gill v. Whitford.

On August 27, the three-judge panel issued a new opinion, ruling for the plaintiffs on both their First and 14th Amendment claims. 

On August 31, the legislative defendants filed a motion to stay the opinion pending Supreme Court review. On September 12, the panel granted that motion. 

On January 4, 2019, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the legislative defendants’ appeal. The Court heard oral argument on March 26.

On June 27, 2019, the Court vacated the decision below and remanded the case for dismissal, holding that partisan gerrymandering claims are nonjusticiable.

Documents

District Court (Initial Proceedings, 2016–2018)

• Complaint (September 22, 2016) 
• Motion for an Extension of Time (October 13, 2016) 
• Response in Opposition to the Defendants’ Motion for an Extension of Time (October 18, 2016)
• Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (November 28, 2016)
• Defendants’ Memorandum in Support of Motion to Dismiss (November 28, 2016)
• Plaintiffs’ Opposition to Motion to Dismiss (December 19, 2016) 
• Order Granting Plaintiffs’ Motion for Pretrial Conference (December 19, 2016)
• Defendants’ Reply Brief to Motion to Dismiss (January 3, 2017) 
• Order on Joint Motion to Consolidate for Discovery and Trial (February 7, 2017)
• Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint (February 10, 2017)
• Scheduling Order (February 14, 2017)
• Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint (February 21, 2017)
• Defendants’ Memorandum in Support of Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs’ First Amended Complaint (February 21, 2017) 
• Defendants’ Answer to Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint (March 3, 2017)
• Order (March 3, 2017)
• Memorandum Opinion (March 3, 2017)
• Notice of Trial Calendar (May 23, 2017)
• Defendants’ Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law (June 5, 2017)
• League of Women Voters Plaintiffs’ Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law (June 5, 2017)
• League of Women Voters Plaintiff’s Trial Brief (June 5, 2017)
• Common Cause Plaintiffs’ Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law (June 5, 2017)
• Notice of Hearing (June 8, 2017)  
• Legislative Defendants’ Motion to Stay (June 26, 2017)
• Legislative Defendants’ Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion to Stay (June 26, 2017)
• Common Cause Plaintiffs’ Response in Opposition to Legislative Defendants’ Motion to Stay (July 17, 2017) 
• League of Women Voters Plaintiffs’ Brief in Opposition to Legislative Defendants’ Motion to Stay (July 17, 2017) 
• Legislative Defendants’ Reply Brief in Support of Motion to Stay (July 31, 2017)
• Order Denying Defendants’ Motion to Stay (August 29, 2017) 
• Memorandum Opinion (September 8, 2017)
• Notice of Hearing (September 11, 2017)
• Final Pretrial Order (October 4, 2017) 
• League of Women Voters North Carolina Plaintiffs’ Final Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law (November 6, 2017)
• League of Women Voters’ Post-Trial Brief (November 6, 2017) 
• Legislative Defendants’ Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law (November 6, 2017)
• Legislative Defendants’ Post-Trial Brief (November 6, 2017) 
• Common Cause Plaintiffs’ Post-Trial Brief (November 6, 2017) 
• Common Cause Plaintiffs’ Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law (November 6, 2017)
• Memorandum Opinion (January 9, 2018)
• Legislative Defendants Emergency Motion to Stay Pending Supreme Court Review and and Request for Expedited Ruling (January 11, 2018)
• Order (January 11, 2018)
• Notice of Appeal (January 11, 2018) 
• Plaintiffs’ Joint Brief in Opposition to Legislative Defendants’ Emergency Motion to Stay Pending Supreme Court Review and Request for Expedited Ruling (January 12, 2018)
• Memorandum Opinion and Order Denying Legislative Defendants’ Emergency Motion to Stay (January 16, 2018)
• Joint Plaintiffs’ and State Defendants’ Notice Regarding Special Master Submission (January 16, 2018)

U.S. Supreme Court (First Appeal)

Emergency Application for Stay

• Emergency Application for Stay (January 12, 2018)
• League of Women Voters Plaintiffs’ Response in Opposition to Emergency Application for Stay Pending Resolution of Direct Appeal to This Court (January 17, 2018)
• Common Cause Plaintiffs’ Response in Opposition to Emergency Application for Stay Pending Resolution of Direct Appeal to This Court (January 17, 2018)
• Motion for Leave to File Amicus Brief for Pennsylvania Senate Senator Joseph Scarnati in Support of Applicants (January 17, 2018) 
• Motion for Leave to File Amicus Brief for George Holding, Walter B. Jones, Jr., Virginia Foxx, Mark Walker, David Rouzer, Richard Hudson, Robert Pittenger, Patrick T. McHenry, Mark Meadows, and Ted Budd in Support of Applicants (January 17, 2018) 
• Motion for Leave to File Amicus Brief in Support of Emergency Application for Stay for the States of Louisiana, Texas, Michigan, and South Carolina (January 17, 2018)
• Motion for Leave to File Amicus Brief in Support of Emergency Application for Stay for the ACLU (January 18, 2018)
• Reply Brief In Support of Emergency Application for Stay Pending Resolution of Direct Appeal to This Court (January 18, 2018)
• Order Granting Application for Stay (January 18, 2018) 
• Appellees’ Motion for Expedited Briefing and Oral Argument Schedule (January 23, 2018)
• Order Denying Appellees’ Motion for Expedited Briefing and Oral Argument Schedule (February 6, 2018) 

Jurisdictional Stage

• Jurisdictional Statement (March 12, 2018)
• Appellees’ Motion to Extend Time to File a Response (March 22, 2018)
• Motion to Affirm by the Common Cause Appellees (April 27, 2018) 
• Motion to Affirm by the League of Women Voters of North Carolina Appellees (April 27, 2018) 
• Brief Opposing Motions to Affirm (May 15, 2018) 
• Notice of Supplemental Authority by the Common Cause Appellees (May 16, 2018)
• Supplemental Brief of the Common Cause Appellees (June 19, 2018)
• Supplemental Brief of the League of Women Voters of North Carolina, et al. Appellees (July 20, 2018) 
• Supplemental Brief of the Appellants (June 20, 2018)
• Order Remanding Case (June 25, 2018)

District Court (on remand)

• Briefing Order (June 27, 2018)
• Plaintiffs’ Brief in Response to June 27 Order (July 11, 2018)
• Defendants’ Brief in Response to June 27 Order (July 11, 2018)
• Order on Additional Expert Discovery (July 16, 2018)
• Legislative Defendants’ Response to Order (July 17, 2018)
• Order (July 18, 2018)
• Common Cause Plaintiffs’ Brief in Response to July 16 Order (August 7, 2018)
• League of Women Voters Plaintiffs’ Brief on Standing (August 7, 2018)
• Legislative Defendants’ Corrected Brief on Standing (August 9, 2018)
• Memorandum Opinion (August 27, 2018)
• Joint Notice (August 29, 2018)
• Plaintiffs’ Memorandum on Remedy (August 31, 2018)
• Notice of Appeal (August 31, 2018)
• Motion to Stay (August 31, 2018)
• Legislative Defendants’ Memorandum in Support of the Motion to Stay (August 31, 2018)
• State Defendants’ Brief on Remedy (September 4, 2018)
• Plaintiffs’ Reply Brief (September 4, 2018)
• Order (September 4, 2018)
• League of Women Voters’ Response to Motion to Stay (September 5, 2018)
• Common Cause Plaintiffs’ Response to Order (September 5, 2018)
• State Defendants’ Response to Motion to Stay (September 5, 2018)
• Legislative Defendants’ Reply Brief (September 5, 2018)
• Order on Remedial Plan (September 12, 2018)

U.S. Supreme Court (Second Appeal)

Jurisdictional Stage

• Jurisdictional Statement (October 1, 2018)
• Motion to Affirm of League of Women Voters Plaintiffs (October 31, 2018)
• Amicus Brief of Philip Kalodner (November 1, 2018) 
• Motion to Affirm of Common Cause Plaintiffs (November 2, 2018)
• Common Cause Plaintiffs’ Supplemental Brief (November 8, 2018)
• Order (January 4, 2019)

Merits Stage

• Order Setting Briefing Deadlines (January 8, 2019)
• Supreme Court March Oral Argument Calendar (January 25, 2019)
• Plaintiffs’ Joint Motion for Divided Argument and Enlargement of Argument Time (February 5, 2019)
• Appellants’ Opening Brief (February 8, 2019)
• Joint Appendix (February 8, 2019)
• League of Women Voters of North Carolina Appellees’ Brief (March 4, 2019)
• Common Cause Appellees’ Brief (March 4, 2019)
• Revised League of Women Voters of North Carolina Appellees’ Brief (March 5, 2019)
• Appellants’ Reply Brief (March 19, 2019)
• Transcript of Oral Argument (March 26, 2019)
• Audio Recording of Oral Argument (March 26, 2019)
• Opinion (June 27, 2019)

Amicus Briefs in Support of the Appellants

• Amicus Brief of the National Republican Redistricting Trust (February 11, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of Michael Turzai (February 12, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of Wisconsin State Senate and State Assembly (February 12, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of American Civil Rights Union and Southeastern Legal Foundation (February 12, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of Members of the North Carolina Congressional Delegation (February 12, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee (February 12, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of Public Interest Legal Foundation (February 12, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of Carl Isett (February 12, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah (February 15, 2019)

Amicus Briefs in Support of Neither Party

• Amicus Brief of David Orentlicher (February 11, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of Judicial Watch, Inc. and Allied Educational Foundation (February 12, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of Bernard Grofman and Ronald Keith Gaddie (February 12, 2019)

Amicus Briefs in Support of the Appellees

• Amicus Brief of the Brennan Center for Justice (March 8, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of Colleagues of Professor Norman Dorsen (March 6, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of First Amendment Clinic of Duke Law (March 7, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of Eric S. Lander (March 7, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of Constitutional Accountability Center (March 8, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of Stephen M. Shapiro (March 8, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of International Municipal Lawyers’ Association et al. (March 8, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of Anti-Defamation League et al. (March 8, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of Democracy North Carolina and The People’s Alliance Fund (March 8, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (March 8, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of 27 Election Law Scientific Evidence, and Empirical Legal Scholars (March 8, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of the American Civil Liberties Union et al. (March 8, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of Professors Christopher Elmendorf et al. (March 8, 2019) 
• Amicus Brief of First Amendment and Election Law Scholars (March 8, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of Historians (March 8, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of Professor D. Theodore Rave (March 8, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (March 8, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of the State of Oregon et al. (March 8, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of Political Science Professors (March 8, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of Professors Wesley Pegden et al. (March 8, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of Governors Arnold Shwarzenegger and Lawrence Joseph Hogan Jr. (March 8, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of Mathematicians, Law Professors, and Students (March 8, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of American Jewish Committee (March 8, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of Bipartisan Group of Current and Former Members of the House of Representatives (March 8, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of Professor Michael Kang (March 8, 2019)
• Amicus Brief of Floyd Abrams Institute for Freedom of Expression (March 11, 2019)