DC Federal Courts hearing Constitutional challenges to VRA Section 5
Last Friday, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit heard oral arguments in LaRoque v. Holder, a case on appeal from a dismissal in which a prospective candidate for City Council in Kinston, NC, challenges the constitutionality of section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.
The week before, on April 27, Shelby County, Ala. v. Holder, was filed in the District Court for the District of Columbia, and is now on Judge John Bates docket. Like LaRoque, Shelby County, Ala. v. Holder, challenges the constitutionality of section 5. Specifically, it claims that Congress exceeded its enforcement authority under the 14th and 15th amendment when it reauthorized the Voting Rights Act in 2006.
Lots of action on the Voting Rights Act front, even outside the context of redistricting, which has most of the election law bar occupied full time.
Both suits have prominent members of the bar supported by non-profits committed to constitutional government.
In Shelby County, Ala. v. Holder, Bert Rein and William Consovoy (Wiley Rein LLP), represent Shelby County with the support of the Center for Individual Rights, a nonprofit public interest law firm that seeks to enforce constitutional
limits on state and federal power, arranged for Carvin's representation in LaRoque.
In LaRoque v. Holder, Michael Carvin (Jones Day), represents LaRoque with the support of the Project on Fair Representation, the mission of which is to facilitate pro bono
legal representation to political subdivisions and individuals that
wish to challenge government distinctions and preferences made on the
basis of race and ethnicity in four areas, including voting.
Both suits pursue questions left open by the Supreme Court in Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. One v. Holder, which held that a small utility district in Texas was covered by the bail out provisions of Section 5, but did not squarely address the constitutionality of the Act itself.
Links to the pleadings (and other relevant info) follow.
Shelby County, Ala. v. Holder:
LaRoque v. Holder: