Louisiana News

Court To Let Lousiana Remap Stand -- June 24, 1996
Holloway Up For Another Try In Louisiana -- June 14, 1996
Louisiana Lawmakers Approve New Map of House Districts -- April 23, 1996

Court To Let Lousiana Remap Stand

By Juliana Gruenwald
CQ Staff Writer

The Supreme Court refused Monday to block a new redistricting plan for Louisiana imposed by a federal three-judge panel, making it much more likely that the new map that has just one black-majority district will be used for the fall elections.

The court ruled that appeals by the state, the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus and the Clinton administration were moot in the light of prior court opinions on the issue of race-conscious redistricting.

The judges imposed their plan in January after ruling that the state's map constituted unconstitutional racial gerrymandering. In crafting their plan, the judges dismantled the black-majority 4th District, which was the subject of a legal challenge, and left the New Orleans-based 2nd as the only district where African-Americans make up a majority of population.

The only apparent obstacle to the plan now is the approval of the Justice Department. The need for such approval is in doubt, given the Supreme Court ruling. But Louisiana Attorney General Richard Ieyoub has said he will seek the approval anyway so as to "cover all the bases."

Holloway Up For Another Try In Louisiana

By Juliana Gruenwald
CQ Staff Writer

June 14, 1996

Although he lost House races in 1992 and 1994, former Republican Rep. Clyde C. Holloway of Louisiana is making another comeback bid this year.

Holloway will formally launch his bid Monday for the newly drawn 5th District. A three-judge panel, which found the state's congressional plan unconstitutional , redrew it with a 5th District in the northeastern part of the state, where no i ncumbent lives.

The rural, conservative district includes a few of the parishes (akin to count ies) that were in the central Louisiana district Holloway represented from 1987 t o 1993. "I thought my shoes fit this district to a tee," he said in an interview.

After Louisiana lost a House seat following the 1990 census, Holloway was toss ed into the same district -- the current 6th -- as Republican Rep. Richard H. Bak er. Baker narrowly defeated Holloway in 1992 in the state's all-party primary. Tw o years later, Holloway took on then-Democratic 7th District Rep. Jimmy Hayes, wh o switched to the GOP last year and is running for the Senate this year. Holloway also ran for governor in 1991, finishing fourth with 5 percent of the vote.

To return to the House, Holloway must still get past two other major contender s who have been up and running longer than he has: Democratic state Rep. Francis Thompson and Republican physician John Cooksey.

Louisiana Lawmakers Approve New Map of House Districts

By Juliana Gruenwald

April 23, 1996

The Louisiana state Legislature has approved a new map of the state's seven congressional districts, mirroring a plan imposed by a panel of three federal judges but also adding another layer of complexity to the legal and political dispute over the map.

Louisiana's state Senate approved the panel's plan, 20-19, on Friday. The state House had approved it April 3. Republican Gov. Mike Foster is expected to sign the legislation.

The new map was imposed in January by a three-judge federal panel, which ruled that the congressional map the state used in 1994 was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The judges' plan only includes one House district, based in New Orleans, that has a majority of black voters. The maps used in the 1992 and 1994 elections had two black-majority districts.

Before the new map can become law it must be approved by the Justice Department or a federal district judge in Washington. The Justice Department is already appealing the federal panel's decision and asking the Supreme Court to prevent the new map from being used in the 1996 elections.

"It's hard to imagine the Justice Department approving a plan that they are simultaneously opposing in court," said Jeff Wice, a redistricting lawyer for the Democratic Legislative Leaders Association.

Also appealing the panel's ruling is Louisiana Attorney General Richard Ieyoub.

AllPolitics home page