FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan. 24, 2021
Raleigh, N.C. (January 27, 2022) — The Southern Coalition for Social Justice, with pro bono counsel from Hogan Lovells filed a brief on behalf of plaintiff Common Cause to the N.C. Supreme Court, making the case against North Carolina’s “extreme partisan gerrymanders.”
Click here to view the Common Cause brief, and our January 31 reply brief to legislative defendants.
Plaintiff briefs were filed on Jan. 24, ahead of oral arguments in front of the N.C. Supreme Court scheduled for Feb. 2 at 9:30 a.m.
According to the Court, counsel for legislative defendants and the three organizational plaintiffs in the consolidated lawsuit Harper, et al. v Hall, et al. will have 45 minutes per side, with approximately 15 minutes for each of the three plaintiffs’ counsel.
The Feb. 2 oral arguments will be streamed live via the N.C. Supreme Court YouTube Channel.
In the consolidated redistricting lawsuit, plaintiffs in Harper et. al v. Hall et al. challenge the enacted state House, state Senate, and Congressional maps as extreme partisan gerrymanders in violation of the North Carolina Constitution. Additionally, plaintiff Common Cause alleges these maps were enacted with discriminatory racial intent in a redistricting process which violated North Carolina Constitutional requirements, as interpreted by the state Supreme Court in the 2002 and 2003 Stephenson v. Bartlett decisions.
Plaintiff Common Cause’s brief explains the nuances between the consolidated cases. Defendants have until Friday, Jan. 28 to submit their response. Plaintiffs must reply to those responses by midnight Monday, Jan. 31.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Sailor Jones, sailor@scsj.org, 919-260-5906; SCSJ
Gino Nuzzolillo, gino@scsj.org, 402-415-4763; SCSJ
Melissa Boughton, melissa@scsj.org, 830-481-6901, SCSJ
Bryan Warner, BWarner@commoncause.org, 919-599-7541; Common Cause NC
Ritchenya A. Dodd, ritchenya.dodd@hoganlovells.com, 212-918-6155; Hogan Lovells
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The Southern Coalition for Social Justice, founded in 2007, partners with communities of color and economically disadvantaged communities in the South to defend and advance their political, social, and economic rights through the combination of legal advocacy, research, organizing, and communications. Learn more at southerncoalition.org and follow our work on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Common Cause is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. We work to create open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest; promote equal rights, opportunity, and representation for all; and empower all people to make their voices heard in the political process.
Global law firm Hogan Lovells has a long tradition of supporting ground-breaking social developments, focusing on access to justice and the rule of law. As lawyers we recognize this commitment is part of our professional practice and collectively we spend 150,000+ pro bono hours per year on work to achieve lasting impact for others.