Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Kerry Benninghoff, Individually and as Majority Leader of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives v. 2021 Legislative Reapportionment Commission, et al.
Paid petition · Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Middle District, No. 11 MM 2022 · judgment March 16, 2022
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Question presented
Pennsylvania’s Legislative Reapportionment Commission admittedly made extensive use of race in constructing up to 14 state legislative districts. The Commission “positioned” Pennsylvania voters into districts because of their race, drawing majorityminority and influence districts in Philadelphia, Allentown, and elsewhere, even though it admitted its use of race went well beyond what the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (the “VRA”) required. The Commission asserted race was not “predominant” because it allegedly first “focused” on traditional districting principles and its districts “performed well” on various traditional districting criteria metrics like average compactness or overall municipal splits. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court held, without written opinion, that the plan complied with the U.S. Constitution. The question presented is whether districts drawn for transparently racial reasons, without a VRA-compliance justification, satisfy the Fourteenth Amendment merely because the redistricting authority also satisfied traditional districting principles.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Efrem M. Braden
Baker & Hostetler LLP
For respondent
Daniel T. Brier
Myers, Brier, Kelly
Proceedings
- Oct 31 2022Petition DENIED.
- Oct 05 2022DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/28/2022.
- Sep 30 2022Reply of petitioner Kerry Benninghoff, individually, and as Majority Leader of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives filed.
- Sep 16 2022Brief of respondent 2021 Legislative Reapportionment Commission in opposition filed.
- Sep 16 2022Brief of respondent Joanna E. McClinton in opposition filed.
- Aug 17 2022Brief amici curiae of Judicial Watch, Inc. and Allied Educational Foundation filed.
- Aug 01 2022Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including September 16, 2022, for all respondents.
- Jul 27 2022Motion to extend the time to file a response from August 17, 2022 to September 16, 2022, submitted to The Clerk.
- Jul 14 2022Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due August 17, 2022)
- Jun 08 2022Application (21A798) granted by Justice Alito extending the time to file until July 14, 2022.
- Jun 01 2022Application (21A798) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from June 14, 2022 to August 13, 2022, submitted to Justice Alito.