John,

The first week of the new year will be a busy one for pro-democracy litigation. Here’s a rundown of what we’re keeping an eye on this week:

A North Carolina state court will hold a trial on the state’s new districts.

• Starting today, the Wake County Superior Court will hold a combined trial in Harper v. Hall and North Carolina League of Conservation Voters v. Hall, cases challenging North Carolina’s new congressional and legislative districts. The plaintiffs allege the new districts are extreme partisan gerrymanders that favor Republicans and dilute the voting power of Black North Carolinians in violation of the state Constitution and ask the court to block their use in 2022 and order the creation of new, fair maps.


• The North Carolina Supreme Court has paused candidate filing for the 2022 elections and delayed the state’s primary from March to May to ensure there’s a final decision on the maps before the elections. Per the state Supreme Court order, the trial court must rule on the maps by Jan. 11 and any appeal will be heard on an expedited basis.


• The trial will begin at 9:00 a.m. EST, with closing statements scheduled for Thursday. A live stream will be provided by WRAL-TV of Raleigh.

Three suits challenging Alabama’s congressional map will have a hearing.

• Tomorrow, Tuesday, Jan. 4, a federal court in Alabama will hold a preliminary injunction hearing in three cases challenging Alabama’s new congressional map on racial grounds. The cases — Singleton v. Merrill, Caster v. Merrill and Milligan v. Merrill — challenge the map for different reasons, but all ask the court to block the map from being used and order the creation of a map that accurately reflects the state’s Black population.


• As this hearing is only on motions for a preliminary injunction, not a trial on the cases’ merits, there will be more hearings and legal steps before litigation over the congressional districts is resolved.

A special panel in Minnesota will hold oral arguments over redistricting.

• Also on Tuesday, a special panel appointed by the Minnesota Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Sachs v. Simon, a consolidated impasse litigation case over the state’s congressional and legislative maps. The cases argue Minnesota will likely not be able to adopt new maps by the Feb. 15 deadline and the courts will need to enact maps instead, as it has every decade since 1980.


• The plaintiffs all prepared their own proposals for Minnesota’s new congressional and legislative maps, which can be found here. The oral arguments will give plaintiffs the opportunity to argue in support of their proposals.


• Oral arguments will begin at 9:30 a.m. CST. A livestream will be available on the state Supreme Court’s website here.

Keep an eye on our Alerts page for new updates and feel free to use the drop down menu on the Cases page to find more information about any of these cases. And be sure to check out our latest piece, “Looking Ahead: Litigation in the New Year,” for info about other cases coming down the pike.

Thanks for staying in the fight,
Team Democracy Docket