ÌÇÐÄVlog

In Arkansas State Conference NAACP v. Arkansas Board of Apportionment, the 8th Circuit became the first federal appeals court to rule that private plaintiffs cannot enforce Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. In doing so, the court left open the question whether private plaintiffs could enforce Section 2 through an alternative civil rights statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1983. In this case, a divided panel on the 8th Circuit has held that plaintiffs may not use Section 1983, either. If the holding stands, Section 2 of the VRA will be functionally out of reach for voters across the 8th Circuit in Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. On behalf of the NAACP Arkansas State Conference and the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, the ÌÇÐÄVlogand ÌÇÐÄVlogof Arkansas has filed a brief supporting the plaintiffs' request that the full Eighth Circuit rehear and correct this decision.

On January 24, 2024, the ÌÇÐÄVlogand ÌÇÐÄVlogof Florida filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit supporting HM Florida-ORL, which operates the restaurant and bar Hamburger Mary’s in Orlando, in its lawsuit alleging that a Florida law infringes upon minors’ First Amendment rights by prohibiting them from attending drag performances.

The ÌÇÐÄVlog, ÌÇÐÄVlogof Florida, and Americans for Immigrant Justice filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a natural-born U.S. citizen who was unlawfully detained — and nearly deported — as a result of a Florida sheriff’s improper collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.