Supreme Court Jumps In to Save Nicole Malliotakis's Job

"That is unadorned racial discrimination, an inherently 'odious' activity that violates the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause except in the 'most extraordinary' case. Justice Samuel Alito wrote this in explaining the Court's decision that the lower court's ruling ordering the House district to be redrawn blatantly discriminates on the basis of race."

"If this Court's grasping reach extends even to a nonfinal decision of a state trial court, then every decision from any court is now fair game. By granting these applications, the Court thrusts itself into the middle of every election-law dispute. Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued this dissenting opinion, joined by Justices Kagan and Jackson."

"A group of Staten Island voters filed a lawsuit alleging that the district, which covers the entire borough and parts of southern Brooklyn, dilutes the voting power of Black and Latino voters by not accounting for the decades-long growth of those populations in Staten Island, thus putting it in violation of the state constitution."

The U.S. Supreme Court issued an emergency stay blocking a lower court's order to redraw New York's 11th Congressional District, preserving Republican Nicole Malliotakis's seat through the midterm elections. Staten Island voters had sued, arguing the district dilutes Black and Latino voting power by not accounting for population growth in those communities, violating the state constitution. A State Supreme Court judge agreed and ordered redistricting by February. Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the lower court's ruling "blatantly discriminates on the basis of race" and violates the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson dissented, arguing the Court should not intervene before the state's highest court ruled.

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