Hecker Fink Files Amicus Brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in Louisiana v. Callais

On September 3, 2025, Hecker Fink LLP filed an amicus brief on behalf of Professor Ellen D. Katz and the Voting Rights Initiative in support of the Robinson appellants in the U.S. Supreme Court in the consolidated cases Louisiana v. Callais and Robinson v. Callais. 

The brief, which can be read here, argues that Louisiana’s Congressional map passes constitutional muster.  That map was enacted to cure violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. It was challenged by the Callais appellees as a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s prohibition on racial discrimination. The brief provides important empirical information, collected by Prof. Katz and the Voting Rights Initiative, to argue in favor of the constitutionality of Section 2 remedies. In particular, the brief explains that Section 2 claims have become less common in recent decades and that successful Section 2 claims have become less common still. Using data about the legal reasoning of courts adjudicating Section 2 cases, the brief also shows that courts find violations of Section 2 and impose remedial measures only in cases where plaintiffs can satisfy the statute’s demanding evidentiary standards.  Based on this evidence, the brief argues that the Callais appellees are wrong to contend that Section 2 remedies have become commonplace and thus constitutionally questionable in recent years.

The Hecker Fink team includes Joshua Matz, Trisha Anderson, Jeffrey Then, and Brian Remlinger.