Federal court throws out new Louisiana Congressional map, says it's a racial gerrymander

A panel of three federal judges agreed to throw out new Louisiana Congressional district maps adopted by the Legislature earlier this year.

MONROE, La. (BRPROUD) — A panel of three federal judges agreed to throw out the new Louisiana Congressional district map adopted by the Legislature earlier this year.

In their judgement, they wrote that the map, which was designed to create a second majority-Black district to meet requirements set by a federal court order does not meet Equal Protection Clause requirements. They called the current layout an "impermissible racial gerrymander."

Plaintiffs argued that the new map was drawn with race as the predominant factor, which is unconstitutional.

The current map nearly cuts the 4th district covering western Louisiana in half with the 6th district. It’s drawn as a narrow, diagonal arm that runs from northwest Louisiana to Baton Rouge.

The ruling, as it stands, means the state can't use the current map in any future elections.

A status conference to discuss what the panel calls an 'appropriate remedy' is set for federal court in Shreveport at 10:30 a.m. May 6.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.

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