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The Eighth Circuit’s Other Jurisdictional Problem

Document Type

Blog Posting

Language

English (en)

Publication Date

2023

Publication Title

Election Law Blog

Abstract

In Arkansas State Conference of the NAACP v. Arkansas Board of Apportionment, a divided panel of the Eighth Circuit muddied the VRA’s jurisdictional waters. The Eighth Circuit, in an opinion by Judge Stras and joined by Judge Gruender, held that private plaintiffs lack an implied cause of action to sue under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. In reaching its unprecedented conclusion, the Eighth Circuit overlooked a different jurisdictional question going to its own authority to hear the case: whether the plaintiffs’ statutory challenge to state legislative districts should have been heard by a three-judge district court with a direct right of appeal to the Supreme Court, rather than by a single-judge district court and then the Eighth Circuit.

Keywords

Voting Rights Act, Eighth Circuit, Jurisdiction, Section 2, Federal Courts, Redistricting, Three-Judge Court, Constitutional Law, Appellate Procedure

Publication Citation

Travis Crum, The Eighth Circuit’s Other Jurisdictional Problem, Election Law Blog (Nov. 21, 2023), https://electionlawblog.org/?p=139782

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