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Simpson Thacher, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Mississippi and Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) filed a lawsuit on April 25 on behalf of individual Black civic leaders in Mississippi. The complaint (available here) challenges state Supreme Court district lines that have gone unchanged for more than 35 years because those lines dilute the voting strength of Black residents in state Supreme Court elections, in violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the U.S. Constitution.

Plaintiffs are seeking to have the districts redrawn so that Black voters have an equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice. As it stands, none of the three Supreme Court districts are drawn with a Black voting age majority, but current District 1, which includes Jackson and part of the Mississippi Delta, could readily be redrawn to have a majority of eligible Black voters.

The Simpson Thacher team includes Jonathan Youngwood, Isaac Rethy, Stephanie Hon and Aanchal Chugh.

The case has been covered by publications including the Associated Press, Clarion Ledger, Mississippi Today, WJTV, WLBT, WAPT, Local Memphis, Mississippi Free Press, and USA Today.