Singleton v. Allen

• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Alabama
• Writing for the Court: PER CURIAM
• Citation: 782 F.Supp.3d 1092
• Docket Number: Case No. 2:21-cv-01291-AMM,Case No. 2:21-cv-01530-AMM
• Decision Date: 08 May 2025
• Parties: Bobby SINGLETON, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Wes ALLEN, in his official capacity as Alabama Secretary of State, et al., Defendants. Evan Milligan, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Wes Allen, in his official capacity as Alabama Secretary of State, et al., Defendants.

782 F.Supp.3d 1092

Bobby SINGLETON, et al., Plaintiffs,
v.
Wes ALLEN, in his official capacity
as Alabama Secretary of State, et al., Defendants.

Evan Milligan, et al., Plaintiffs,
v.
Wes Allen, in his official capacity
as Alabama Secretary of State, et al., Defendants.

Case No. 2:21-cv-01291-AMM
Case No. 2:21-cv-01530-AMM

United States District Court, N.D. Alabama, Southern Division

Signed May 8, 2025

782 F.Supp.3d 1109

Diandra S. Debrosse, Eli Joseph Hare, DiCello Levitt LLP, Birmingham, AL, James Uriah Blacksher, James U. Blacksher, Attorney, Birmingham, AL, James S. Christie, Dentons Sirote PC, Birmingham, AL, Joe R. Whatley, Jr., W. Tucker Brown, Whatley Kallas LLP, Birmingham, AL, U. W. Clemon, U. W. Clemon, LLC, Birmingham, AL, W. Edward Still, Edward Still Law Firm LLC, Birmingham, AL, Henry C. Quillen, Whatley Kallas LLP, Portsmouth, NH, Myron C. Penn, Penn & Seaborn LLC, Union Springs, AL, for Plaintiffs Bobby Singleton, Rodger Smitherman, Leonette W. Slay, Darryl Andrews, Andrew Walker in No. 2:21-cv-01291.

Diandra S. Debrosse, Eli Joseph Hare, DiCello Levitt LLP, Birmingham, AL, James Uriah Blacksher, James U. Blacksher, Attorney, Birmingham, AL, Joe R. Whatley, Jr., W. Tucker Brown, Whatley Kallas LLP, Birmingham, AL, U. W. Clemon, U. W. Clemon, LLC, Birmingham, AL, W. Edward Still, Edward Still Law Firm LLC, Birmingham, AL, Henry C. Quillen, Whatley Kallas LLP, Portsmouth, NH, Myron C. Penn, Penn & Seaborn LLC, Union Springs, AL, for Plaintiff Eddie Billingsley in No. 2:21-cv-01291.

Algert Swanson Agricola, Jr., Barbara H. Agricola, Agricola Law, LLC, Opelika, AL, Benjamin J. Espy, Joseph C. Espy, III, William M. Espy, Melton Espy & Williams PC, Montgomery, AL, for Intervenor Jeff Coleman Coleman for Congress in No. 2:21-cv-01291.

Christina Rossi Pantazis, Ogletree Deakins, Birmingham, AL, Michael Paul Taunton,

782 F.Supp.3d 1110

Riley Katherine Lancaster, Balch & Bingham, LLP, Birmingham, AL, Edmund Gerard LaCour, Jr., Office of the Attorney General, Montgomery, AL, Jordan Dorman Walker, Balch & Bingham LLP, Montgomery, AL, for Defendants Chris Pringle, Steve Livingston.

Brenton Merrill Smith, Edmund Gerard LaCour, Jr., James W. Davis, Misty Shawn Fairbanks Messick, James Scott Woodard, Jr., Alexander Barrett Bowdre, Soren A. Geiger, Charles A. McKay, Benjamin Matthew Seiss, Matthew Ryan Duggan, Richard Dwayde Mink, Office of the Attorney General, Montgomery, AL, Jordan Dorman Walker, Balch & Bingham LLP, Montgomery, AL, for Defendant Wes Allen.

John J. Park, Jr., Law Offices of Jack Park, Gainesville, GA, for Amicus Quin Hillyer in No. 2:21-cv-01291.

Alison Nicole Mollman, Laurel Ann Hattix, ACLU of Alabama, Montgomery, AL, Amanda N. Allen, Jessica L. Ellsworth, Pro Hac Vice, Hogan Lovells U.S. LLP, Washington, DC, Deuel Ross, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc., Washington, DC, Anna Kathryn Barnes, Pro Hac Vice, Anthony Ashton, NAACP, Baltimore, MD, Blayne R. Thompson, Pro Hac Vice, Hogan Lovells U.S. LLP, Houston, TX, Brittany Carter, Pro Hac Vice, Leah C. Aden, Kathryn Carden Sadasivan, Stuart Naifeh, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., New York, NY, David Dunn, Pro Hac Vice, Hogan Lovells U.S. LLP, New York, NY, Davin Rosborough, Julie A. Ebenstein, Theresa J. Lee, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, New York, NY, Harmony R. Gbe, Pro Hac Vice, Michael Lovejoy Turrill, Pro Hac Vice, Hogan Lovells U.S. LLP, Los Angeles, CA, Nicki Leili Lawsen, Sidney Monroe Jackson, Wiggins, Childs, Pantazis, Fisher & Goldfarb, LLC, Birmingham, AL, Shelita M. Stewart, Pro Hac Vice, Hogan Lovells U.S. LLP, Washington, DC, for Plaintiff Evan Milligan in No. 2:21-cv-01530.

Alison Nicole Mollman, Laurel Ann Hattix, ACLU of Alabama, Montgomery, AL, Anna Kathryn Barnes, Pro Hac Vice, Anthony Ashton, NAACP, Baltimore, MD, Blayne R. Thompson, Pro Hac Vice, Hogan Lovells U.S. LLP, Houston, TX, Brittany Carter, Pro Hac Vice, Leah C. Aden, Kathryn Carden Sadasivan, Stuart Naifeh, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., New York, NY, David Dunn, Pro Hac Vice, Hogan Lovells U.S. LLP, New York, NY, Davin Rosborough, Julie A. Ebenstein, Theresa J. Lee, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, New York, NY, Deuel Ross, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc., Washington, DC, Jessica L. Ellsworth, Pro Hac Vice, Hogan Lovells U.S. LLP, Washington, DC, Harmony R. Gbe, Pro Hac Vice, Michael Lovejoy Turrill, Pro Hac Vice, Hogan Lovells U.S. LLP, Los Angeles, CA, Nicki Leili Lawsen, Sidney Monroe Jackson, Wiggins, Childs, Pantazis, Fisher & Goldfarb, LLC, Birmingham, AL, Shelita M. Stewart, Pro Hac Vice, Hogan Lovells U.S. LLP, Washington, DC, for Plaintiffs Shalela Dowdy, Letetia Jackson, Khadidah Stone, Greater Birmingham Ministries in 2:21-cv-01530.

Ashley Burrell, Brittany Carter, Pro Hac Vice, Colin Burke, Leah C. Aden, Kathryn Carden Sadasivan, Stuart Naifeh, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., New York, NY, David Dunn, Pro Hac Vice, Hogan Lovells U.S. LLP, New York, NY, Davin Rosborough, Dayton Campbell-Harris, Julie A. Ebenstein, Sophia Lin Lakin, Theresa J. Lee, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, New York, NY, Alison Nicole Mollman, Laurel Ann Hattix, ACLU of Alabama, Montgomery, AL, Anna Kathryn Barnes, Pro Hac Vice, Anthony Ashton, NAACP, Baltimore, MD, Blayne R. Thompson, Pro Hac Vice,

782 F.Supp.3d 1111

Hogan Lovells U.S. LLP, Houston, TX, Deuel Ross, Victor Olofin, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., Washington, DC, Jessica L. Ellsworth, Pro Hac Vice, Hogan Lovells U.S. LLP, Washington, DC, Harmony R. Gbe, Pro Hac Vice, James W. Ettinger, Michael Lovejoy Turrill, Pro Hac Vice, Hogan Lovells U.S. LLP, Los Angeles, CA, Nicki Leili Lawsen, Sidney Monroe Jackson, Wiggins, Childs, Pantazis, Fisher & Goldfarb, LLC, Birmingham, AL, Shelita M. Stewart, Pro Hac Vice, Hogan Lovells U.S. LLP, Washinton, DC, for Plaintiff Alabama State Conference of the NAACP in No. 2:21-cv-01530.

Jarmal Jabbar Sanders, Pro Se in No.2:21-cv-01530.

Robert Smith Vance, III, Dominick Feld Hyde, Birmingham, AL, for Amicus The Brennan Center for Justice at N.Y.U. School of Law in No. 2:21-cv-01530.

John Mark White, White Arnold & Dowd, PC, Birmingham, AL, for Amicus Terri Sewell in No. 2:21-cv-01530.

Benjamin Klein, Covington & Burling LLP, New York, NY, Robert D. Fram, Covington & Burling LLP, San Francisco, CA, John Mark White, White Arnold & Dowd, PC, Birmingham, AL, for Amicus Members of the Congressional Black Caucus of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives in No. 2:21-cv-01530.

Christopher E. Mills, Spero Law LLC, Charleston, SC, Mateo Forero-Norena, Holtzman Vogel PLLC, Washington, DC, for Amicus National Republican Redistricting Trust in No. 2:21-cv-01530.

Denzel Efemena Okinedo, Burr and Forman, Birmingham, AL, for Amici Randall Woodfin, Steven L. Reed, Merika Coleman, Linda Coleman-Madison, Napoleon Bracy, Jr., Patrick Sellers, Sheila D. Tyson, Jason Q. Ward in No. 2:21-cv-01530.

Before MARCUS, Circuit Judge, MANASCO and MOORER, District Judges.

INJUNCTION AND ORDER FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

PER CURIAM:

These congressional redistricting cases returned to this Court for trial after the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed a preliminary injunction we entered. See Allen v. Milligan, 599 U.S. 1, 10, 17, 143 S.Ct. 1487, 216 L.Ed.2d 60 (2023). These cases are three of four cases pending in the Northern District of Alabama that allege that Alabama's electoral maps are racially discriminatory in violation of the United States Constitution and/or dilute the votes of Black Alabamians in violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, 52 U.S.C. § 10301: Singleton v. Allen, Case No. 2:21-cv-1291-AMM (challenges the congressional map on constitutional and statutory grounds), Milligan v. Allen, Case No. 2:21-cv-1530-AMM (challenges the congressional map on constitutional and statutory grounds), and Caster v. Allen, Case No. 2:21-cv-1536-AMM (challenges the congressional map on statutory grounds).¹

Singleton and Milligan are before this three-judge Court, and Caster is before Judge Manasco sitting alone. Although there are differences in the Plaintiffs' theories of liability, all Plaintiffs challenge districts in South and Central Alabama, with a focus on Alabama's Black Belt and Gulf Coast regions. Likewise, all Plaintiffs request an injunction barring Alabama Secretary

782 F.Supp.3d 1112

of State Wes Allen from conducting elections according to the electoral map for Alabama's seven seats in the United States House of Representatives that the Alabama Legislature ("the Legislature") passed after the Supreme Court's ruling in Allen ("the 2023 Plan").

The preliminary injunction that the Supreme Court affirmed prohibited the use of Alabama's previous districting plan ("the 2021 Plan"). Milligan Doc. 107.² The 2021 Plan included only one majority-Black congressional district — District 7, which became a majority-Black district in 1992 when a federal court drew it that way in a ruling that was affirmed by the Supreme Court of the United States. Wesch v. Hunt, 785 F. Supp. 1491, 1497-1500 (S.D. Ala. 1992) (three-judge court), aff'd sub nom. Camp v. Wesch, 504 U.S. 902, 112 S.Ct. 1926, 118 L.Ed.2d 535 (1992), and aff'd sub nom. Figures v. Hunt, 507 U.S. 901, 113 S.Ct. 1233, 122 L.Ed.2d 640 (1993). In the 1992 election under the court-ordered map, District 7 elected Alabama's first Black Congressman in over 90 years. District 7 remains majority-Black to this day and in every election since 1992 has elected a Black Democrat. No other Alabama congressional district has elected a Black candidate in approximately 150 years, until District 2 elected Shomari Figures in 2024 under a court-ordered map that we imposed after the Legislature failed to remedy a likely violation of Section Two of the Voting Rights Act.

We issued that preliminary injunction with the benefit of a seven-day hearing and an extensive record: we heard live testimony...