By SPEAKIN’ OUT NEWS
MONTGOMERY — Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has thrown his support behind the Jefferson County Commission as it fights a federal ruling that barred the county from using its current district map. In an amicus brief filed last week with the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, Marshall argued that the lower court misapplied constitutional standards when it ruled that the commission’s 2021 map relied too heavily on race.
U.S. District Judge Madeline Haikala ruled in September that Jefferson County’s redistricting plan was unconstitutional, finding that race was the “predominant factor” behind its design. The lawsuit, filed in 2023 by the Legal Defense Fund and Birmingham civil rights attorneys, alleged that the map intentionally packed Black voters into Districts 1 and 2, weakening their influence elsewhere in the county.
The 11th Circuit has since paused the ruling, allowing Jefferson County to use the 2021 map for the 2026 elections while the appeal proceeds.
Marshall’s brief sharply disputes the district court’s conclusions, arguing that Judge Haikala “presumed without evidence” that commissioners used racial targets. Marshall said the ruling ignored the U.S. Supreme Court’s directive that legislatures be presumed to act in good faith unless clear proof shows otherwise.
“The district court ignored that rule and created a problem that doesn’t exist,” Marshall said. “Without the presumption of good faith, courts become weapons of political warfare.”
The filing leans heavily on Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, a recent Supreme Court decision reinforcing that redistricting bodies must be granted a “starting presumption” of legitimate intent. Marshall argues the district court “paid only lip service” to that standard and effectively accused Jefferson County officials — and predecessors dating back decades — of using racial quotas.
Plaintiffs, however, contend the pattern is unmistakable. Since 1986, Black voters have made up roughly 65% of Districts 1 and 2, while no Black candidate has ever won in Districts 3, 4, or 5. They argue that the 2021 map continued a historic practice of isolating Black political power despite the county’s changing demographics.
Alongside Marshall, Solicitor General Barrett Bowdre and attorneys general from Florida and Georgia signed the brief. The case now moves to the 11th Circuit, where both sides await a decision that could reshape redistricting rules statewide.