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US supreme court to rule on new mostly Black Louisiana congressional districts

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US supreme court to rule on new mostly Black Louisiana congressional districts


The US supreme court said on Monday it will take up a new redistricting case involving Louisiana’s congressional map with two mostly Black districts.

The court will not hear arguments until early next year and the 2024 elections are proceeding under the challenged map, which could boost Democrats’ chances of retaking the closely divided US House.

A lower court had invalidated the map, but the justices allowed it to be used in 2024 after an emergency appeal from the state and civil rights groups.

The issue in front of the justices is whether the state relied too heavily on race in drawing a second majority Black district.

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The court’s order on Monday is the latest step in federal court battles over Louisiana congressional districts that have lasted more than two years. Louisiana has had two congressional maps blocked by lower courts – and the US supreme court has intervened twice.

The state’s Republican-dominated legislature drew a new congressional map in 2022 to account for population shifts reflected in the 2020 census. But the changes in effect maintained the status quo of five Republican-leaning majority white districts and one Democratic-leaning majority Black district in a state that is about one-third Black.

Noting the size of the state’s Black population, civil rights advocates challenged the map in a Baton Rouge-based federal court and won a ruling from US district judge Shelly Dick that the districts probably discriminated against Black voters.

The supreme court put Dick’s ruling on hold while it took up a similar case from Alabama. The justices allowed both states to use the maps in the 2022 elections even though both had been ruled likely to be discriminatory by federal judges.

The high court eventually affirmed the ruling from Alabama, which led to a new map and a second district that could elect a Black lawmaker. The justices returned the Louisiana case to federal court, with the expectation that new maps would be in place for the 2024 elections.

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The fifth US circuit court of appeals gave lawmakers in Louisiana a deadline of early 2024 to draw a new map or face the possibility of a court-imposed map.

Jeff Landry, the state’s Republican governor, had defended Louisiana’s congressional map as the state’s attorney general. Now, though, he urged lawmakers to pass a new map with another majority-Black district at a special session in January. He backed a map that created a new majority Black district stretching across the state, linking parts of the Shreveport, Alexandria, Lafayette and Baton Rouge.

A different set of plaintiffs, a group of self-described non-African Americans, filed suit in western Louisiana, claiming that the new map was also illegal because it was driven too much by race, in violation of the US constitution. A divided panel of federal judges ruled 2-1 in April in their favor and blocked use of the new map.

The supreme court voted 6-3 to put that ruling on hold and allow the map to be used.

Liz Murrill, the state attorney general whose office has defended both maps enacted by lawmakers, called on the court to “provide more clear guidance to legislators and reduce judicial second-guessing after the legislature does its job”.

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“Based upon the supreme court’s most recent pronouncements, we believe the map is constitutional,” Murrill said.

The state and civil rights groups were at odds over the first map but are allies now.

“Federal law requires Louisiana to have a fair map that reflects the power and voice of the state’s Black communities,” Stuart Naifeh of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund said in a statement. “The state recognized as much when it adopted a new map with a second majority-Black district in January. Now the supreme court must do the same.”

The supreme court vote to use the challenged map in this year’s elections was unusual in that the dissenting votes came from the three liberal justices, who have been supportive of Black voters in redistricting cases. But, in an opinion by justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, they said their votes were motivated by their view that there was time for a new map to be drawn – and their disagreement with past court orders that cited the approach of an election to block lower-court rulings.

“There is little risk of voter confusion from a new map being imposed this far out from the November election,” Jackson wrote in May.

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In adopting the districts that are being used this year, Landry and his allies said the driving factor was politics, not race. The congressional map provides politically safe districts for the House speaker, Mike Johnson, and majority leader, Steve Scalise, fellow Republicans. Some lawmakers have also noted that the one Republican whose district was greatly altered in the new map, Garret Graves, supported a Republican opponent of Landry in the 2023 governor’s race. Graves chose not to seek re-election under the new map.

Among the candidates in the new district is Cleo Fields, a Democratic state senator and former congressman who is Black.

Read more of the Guardian’s 2024 US election coverage



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Louisiana

Louisiana State Police urge caution when using fireworks

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Louisiana State Police urge caution when using fireworks


ALEXANDRIA, La. (KALB) – As 2025 approaches, it is time to say goodbye to the old year and bring in the new, which for many, includes celebrations.

Troopers with Louisiana State Police are urging the public to remain mindful and prioritize safety if they plan to use fireworks this holiday.

Fireworks can be fun, but they can also be dangerous. If not handled properly, they can lead to accidents, injuries and even fires or death.

State Trooper Casey Wallace stressed the importance of being cautious and responsible during the New Year season. He advised everyone to follow local laws and safety guidelines when using fireworks.

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“Always make sure you’re following the rules and regulations in your area,” Wallace said. “Remember to keep a safe distance, never light fireworks indoors and never let children handle them.”

People need to stay alert and aware of their surroundings to prevent accidents. Wallace pointed out that even seemingly harmless fireworks, like sparklers, can be dangerous if not used carefully.

“Don’t turn a fun family event into something fatal,” he cautioned. “You don’t want to lose a career or, worse, a loved one.”

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in 2023, there were reports of eight deaths and approximately 9,700 injuries from fireworks. Of the eight deaths, five were due to misuse of fireworks, two were caused by device malfunctions and one involved unknown circumstances.

Following safety guidelines and being responsible can help ensure a fun and safe holiday for everyone.

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Seeking Louisiana Young Heroes for 2025

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Seeking Louisiana Young Heroes for 2025


Louisiana Public Broadcasting is looking for nominees for its 2025 Louisiana Young Heroes program that identifies exceptional individuals who have excelled in academics, given significantly through public service, overcome adversity,



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Louisiana prisons routinely hold inmates past their release date, Justice Department argues

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Louisiana prisons routinely hold inmates past their release date, Justice Department argues


Louisiana’s prison system routinely holds inmates for weeks or months after they were supposed to be released from custody following the completion of their sentences, the U.S. Justice Department said in a lawsuit filed Friday.

The lawsuit against the state comes after a multi-year investigation into a pattern of “systemic overdetention” that violates inmates’ rights and costs taxpayers millions of dollars per year.

Since at least 2012, more than a quarter of the inmates scheduled to be released from Louisiana prisons have been held past their release dates, according to the DOJ.

LOUISIANA LAWMAKERS WEIGHING CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT THAT WOULD SEND MORE JUVENILE OFFENDERS TO ADULT JAILS

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Louisiana’s prisons often hold inmates long after they were supposed to be released following the completion of their sentences, the DOJ says. (AP)

The Justice Department warned Louisiana officials last year that it may file a lawsuit against the state if it failed to fix the problems. Lawyers for the department argue that the state made “marginal efforts” to address the issues, noting that such attempts at a fix were “inadequate” and showed a “deliberate indifference” to the constitutional rights of inmates.

“[T]he right to individual liberty includes the right to be released from incarceration on time after the term set by the court has ended,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement.

“To incarcerate people indefinitely … not only intrudes on individual liberty, but also erodes public confidence in the fair and just application of our laws,” the statement added.

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More than a quarter of the inmates scheduled to be released from Louisiana prisons since at least 2012 have been held past their release dates, the Department of Justice said. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and state Attorney General Liz Murrill, both Republicans, attributed the problem to the “failed criminal justice reforms” pushed by “the past administration.”

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“This past year, we have taken significant action to keep Louisianans safe and ensure those who commit the crime, also do the time,” Landry and Murrill said in a joint statement to The Associated Press. “The State of Louisiana is committed to preserving the constitutional rights of Louisiana citizens.”

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Jeff Landry at CPAC Texas

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry speaks at CPAC Texas 2022 conference at Hilton Anatole. (Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The two state officials also purported that the lawsuit is a last-ditch effort by President Biden, who leaves office next month, arguing that President-elect Trump’s incoming administration would not have pursued the case.

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Advocates have repeatedly challenged the conditions in Louisiana’s prison system, which includes Angola, the largest maximum-security prison in the nation, where inmates pick vegetables by hand on an 18,000-acre lot. The site was once the Angola Plantations, a slave plantation owned by Isaac Franklin and named after Angola, the country of origin for many of the enslaved people who worked there.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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