Justice Alito Questions Voting Rights Act Compactness in Robinson v. Callais

Supreme Court Hearing on Voting Rights Act

• 🏛️ The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Robinson v. Callais and Louisiana v. Callais, cases that could impact Section Two of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
• ❓ Justice Samuel Alito questioned the defendants' attorney, Janai Nelson, regarding the concept of compactness in the context of gerrymandering.

Compactness in Gerrymandering

• 🗺️ The discussion centered on whether the minority group or the district itself was geographically compact, referencing the Milligan case.
• 💡 The attorney asserted that all seven illustrative maps presented were geographically compact and met traditional redistricting criteria.
• ⚠️ Justice Alito expressed concern that the minority population in the illustrative map was not geographically compact, citing the combination of rural and urban populations to achieve a BVAP majority.
• ⚖️ Alito stated his firm recollection that the district court and the Fifth Circuit on appeal did not apply the correct standard under Milligan regarding compactness.