Entries by Dustin Chicurel-Bayard

Press Release: Voters Urge U.S. Supreme Court to Agree that North Carolina Congressional Map is an Unconstitutional Partisan Gerrymander

April 27, 2018 /in , , /by

WASHINGTON – Plaintiffs in North Carolina’s partisan gerrymandering challenge, League of Women Voters of North Carolina v. Rucho, filed a motion with the U.S. Supreme Court today asking the court to affirm the lower court’s ruling that found the entire state’s plan to be an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander. In February, the Supreme Court denied expedited briefing in […]

SCSJ at the U.S. Supreme Court

April 26, 2018 /in , , /by

The Southern Coalition for Social Justice hit a milestone this week. Allison Riggs, our Senior Voting Rights Attorney, argued a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. Abbott v. Perez is a redistricting case out of Texas where voters of color were either packed or cracked into districts to minimize their political power. It was wrong. […]

Press Release: Voters File Federal Court Challenge to Voter Intimidation Efforts in Virginia

April 12, 2018 /in /by

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 12, 2018 Contact: Dustin Chicurel-Bayard, dustin@scsj.org, 919.323.4051 Mackenzie Long, mlong@wearerally.com, 916.524.3197   Voters File Federal Court Challenge to Voter Intimidation Efforts in Virginia Voter intimidation violates Ku Klux Klan Act, created in 1871 to protect voters from being harassed when attempting to register or vote   ALEXANDRIA, VA – Voters subjected […]

Press Release: Voters File Federal Court Challenge to Voter Intimidation Efforts in Virginia

April 12, 2018 /in , , , , /by

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 12, 2018 Contact: Dustin Chicurel-Bayard, dustin@scsj.org, 919.323.4051 Mackenzie Long, mlong@wearerally.com, 916.524.3197   Voters File Federal Court Challenge to Voter Intimidation Efforts in Virginia Voter intimidation violates Ku Klux Klan Act, created in 1871 to protect voters from being harassed when attempting to register or vote   ALEXANDRIA, VA – Voters subjected […]

Voting Rights Advocates Seek New Districts in Wake County for the 2018 Election

February 21, 2018 /in , , , /by

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Southern Coalition for Social Justice filed a redistricting challenge in Wake County Superior Court today arguing that the 2017 changes to four Wake County State House Districts violate the state constitution’s prohibition against mid-decade redistricting; asking the court to prevent the illegally altered Wake County districts in the legislature’s 2017 plan […]

Statement from the Southern Coalition for Social Justice Regarding the Dismissal of Charges for the Protesters Charged with Toppling Confederate Monument in Durham

February 20, 2018 /in , , /by

On February 20, 2018, Durham District Attorney Roger Echols announced that he was dismissing the charges against protesters charged with toppling the Confederate monument outside of the old Durham County Courthouse in August 2017.  The decision came the day after the first three protesters to stand trial had their cases dismissed or were acquitted. Whitley Carpenter, part of […]

Plaintiffs Quick to Seek Relief in State Court after U.S. Supreme Court Action

February 7, 2018 /in , , , /by

RALEIGH, N.C. – Plaintiffs in a state court redistricting challenge have asked a three-judge panel in Wake County Superior Court to order new districts into effect that comply with the North Carolina Constitution.  The motion comes less than 24 hours after the U.S. Supreme Court ordered that districts drawn by a Special Master that remedy racially […]

U.S. Supreme Court Orders into Effect Fixes for Racially Gerrymandered Districts for 2018 Election

February 6, 2018 /in , , , /by

Puts hold on some of the Special Master’s districts related to state constitutional violations WASHINGTON, D.C. – This evening the U.S. Supreme Court refused to block a district court’s order that remedied racially gerrymandered districts that were first enacted in the state’s 2011 redistricting plan and would have been perpetuated by the legislature’s 2017 plan. […]

Court Orders Special Master’s Recommended Districts Incorporated into State Legislative Redistricting Plan to Correct Constitutional Flaws

January 19, 2018 /in , , , /by

Court-ordered maps are now law GREENSBORO, N.C. – A panel of three federal court judges has issued a unanimous order that incorporates the recommendations of the court-appointed Special Master, Dr. Nathan Persily, into North Carolina’s state legislative districts.  The Dr. Persily was asked to alter nine state legislative districts after the Court identified that the 2017 […]