Originally published at: Louisiana: Racism Doesn’t Exist Anymore, So Let Us Racially Gerrymander
Republican state officials and legislators in Louisiana argued to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday that the state has moved past racial discrimination in voting — and so should be allowed to suppress Black voting power with impunity. In the newest attack on the hollowed-out Voting Rights Act, red states and right-wing lawyers…
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FWIW, the Fifth Circuit’s internal rules only allow it to overrule its past precedential opinions via a motion for rehearing en banc. So theoretically, this panel’s hands are tied.
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The Civil War never ended.
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And if the Fifth Circuit says “We have changed the rules. For this case only, and not to be considered precedent.”
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The internal rules can’t be changed except by vote of the full court. The panel could try to distinguish past precedent, but the more usual path is for the panel to rant about how terrible the precedent is and how sad that their hands are tied, then urge that en banc review is necessary.
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That’s right, I forgot; human nature has changed, and all people are now angels.
Therefore, laws are no longer needed.
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How can we properly represent “the people” if we can’t choose our constituents?
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Thx!
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Refreshing to see a response that isn’t pure legal nihilism.
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Mardi Gras was already off my bucket list after Louisiana decided to gag-order vaccinators because measles aren’t so bad any more. With this, they’re becoming almost an easier boycott than Never-Tesla.
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Pretty soon I expect the Louisiana ReThug’s to ask the 5th Circuit to allow the restoration of the right to lynch colored people from bald cypress trees for sport. That is, after all, the biggest outdoor entertainment the State of Louisiana has ever sponsored.
Very simple. Now that we no longer discriminate against uppity n–gers, we don’t have to put up with uppity n–gers running for legislative positions that should be held by good old boys.