Appeals court: Separate, distinct minority groups can't join together to claim vote dilution

News

Appeals court: Separate, distinct minority groups can't join together to claim vote dilution

2024-08-02 07:56 Last Updated At：08:01

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Distinct minority groups cannot join together in coalitions to claim their votes are diluted in redistricting cases under the Voting Rights Act, a divided federal appeals court ruled Thursday, acknowledging that it was reversing years of its own precedent.

At issue was a redistricting case in Galveston County, Texas, where Black and Latino groups had joined to challenge district maps drawn by the county commission. A federal district judge had rejected the maps, saying they diluted minority strength. A three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals initially upheld the decision before the full court decided to reconsider the issue, resulting in Thursday's 12-6 decision.

Judge Edith Jones, writing for the majority, said such challenges by minority coalitions “do not comport” with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and are not supported by Supreme Court precedent The decision reverses a 1988 5th Circuit decision and is likely to be appealed to the Supreme Court.

“Nowhere does Section 2 indicate that two minority groups may combine forces to pursue a vote dilution claim,” Jones, nominated to the court by former President Ronald Reagan, wrote. “On the contrary, the statute identifies the subject of a vote dilution claim as ‘a class,’ in the singular, not the plural.”

Jones was joined by 11 other nominees of Republican presidents on the court. Dissenting were five members nominated by Democratic presidents and one nominee of a Republican president. The 5th Circuit reviews cases from federal district courts in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

“Today, the majority finally dismantled the effectiveness of the Voting Rights Act in this circuit, leaving four decades of en banc precedent flattened in its wake,” dissenting Judge Dana Douglas, nominated to the court by President Joe Biden. Her dissent noted that Galveston County figures prominently in the nation's Juneteenth celebrations, marking the date in 1865, when Union soldiers told enslaved Black people in Galveston that they had been freed.

“To reach its conclusion, the majority must reject well-established methods of statutory interpretation, jumping through hoops to find exceptions,” Douglas wrote.

No. 23 Illinois outlasts Purdue 50-49 in overtime on sack on 2-point conversion

2024-10-13 09:01 Last Updated At：09:10

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Luke Altmyer threw a 25-yard touchdown pass in overtime to Pat Bryant, and Dylan Rosiek sacked Purdue's Ryan Browne on a 2-point conversion attempt to give No. 23 Illinois a 50-49 victory Saturday.

Illinois (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) had lost four straight and seven of its last eight against Purdue (1-5, 0-3). The Illini hadn’t beaten the Boilermakers at Memorial Stadium since 2010.

Illinois’ David Alano made a 38-yard field goal as time expired to tie it at 43 after Purdue rallied to take the lead for the first time.

Ahrmad Branch, on his only carry of the day, scored on a 3-yard run in OT for the Boilermakers.

Purdue coach Ryan Walters said he went for the 2-point conversion in OT “because we were in control of the game at that point. We clawed back in the game, something we hadn’t done this season, and I wanted to give us a chance to win. I hate losing.”

Altmyer completed 20 of 34 passes for 379 yards and three touchdowns. Josh McCray ran for 78 yards and two TDs and caught a scoring pass. Bryant caught four passes for 104 yards.

“We did enough bad things to give them the game,” Illinois coach Bret Bielema said. “If you let a team stick around like that, that’s what happens. I still think we’re a good team knocking on the door of doing something cool.”

Browne, a redshirt freshman making his first career start with Hudson Card sidelined by a concussion, rushed for 118 yards on 17 carries and completed 18 of 26 passes for 297 yards and three TDs after throwing for just 9 yards in the first half.

Max Klare caught six passes for 133 yards for Purdue. Devin Mockobee ran for 102 yards on 11 carries.

Down 27-3 at halftime, Purdue launched a comeback.

“We executed. We didn't panic,” Walters said.

The Boilermakers scored two TDs in eight seconds on 53-yard pass from Browne to Jahmal Edrine and a sack of Altmyer by Nyland Green that caused a fumble that Will Heldt returned 16 yards for TD.

After Browne threw a 62-yard strike to Klare on a double-reverse flea flicker, a 24-yard field goal by Spencer Porath made it 27-20. Altmyer ended Purdue’s surge with a 13-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter.

The Boilermakers responded with an 8-yard TD pass from Browne to Jaron Tibbs and a 2-point conversion pass from Browne to Klare, but McCray scored on a 3-yard run to make it 40-28.

Purdue cut the lead to 40-35 with 1:35 left on a 2-yard TD run by Mockobee.

After Ben Freehill recovered an onside kick, the Boilermakers scored again on a 13-yard pass from Brown to Mockobee and a 2-point conversion pass from Browne to Edrine with 46 seconds left to move in front for the first time at 43-40.

THE TAKEAWAY

Illinois: Now that the Illini have vanquished the Boilermakers, the biggest thorn in their side over the past several years, they can focus on back-to-back huge Big Ten games to end the month. They’ll host No. 24 Michigan next week in the culmination of a season-long celebration of Memorial Stadium’s 100th anniversary and travel to No. 3 Oregon the following week.

Purdue: The Boilermakers dropped their fifth straight after a season-opening win over Indiana State, and the Boilermakers have to go up against three of the country’s top four teams (Oregon, Oho State and Penn State) in the next four games.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Beating one of the country’s worst teams by just one point in overtime shouldn’t propel Illinois higher in the AP Top 25. But the Illini shouldn’t drop, either, because they did what they needed to do against a foe that was desperate for a win.

TOP RUSHER OUT

Illinois rushing leader Kaden Feagin missed the game because of a hyperextended left leg, suffered in practice during the week. Bielema said Feagan will be out “for a little bit.” Feagin had gained 306 yards on 67 carries and run for three touchdowns in Illinois' first five games.

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and College football ' Latest News & Updates