For Immediate Release:
November 21, 2025
For press inquiries only, contact:
Amanda Priest (334) 322-5694
William Califf (334) 604-3230
(Montgomery, Ala) – Attorney General Steve Marshall filed an amicus brief earlier this week supporting the Jefferson County Commission’s appeal of a district court ruling that prohibits the Commission from using the district maps it drew following the 2020 census. The map retained the same basic geography of maps the Commission had enacted in 1993, 2001, and 2013 that had been approved by the Department of Justice, but plaintiffs challenged the new map as a racial gerrymander and the district court agreed. In October, the Eleventh Circuit held that the Commission could use its enacted map for the 2026 election while the appellate court considers the Commission’s appeal.
Marshall’s brief argues that the district court erred in its ruling by presuming without evidence that the Commission imposed racial targets rather than presuming that the Commission acted in good faith.
“The U.S. Supreme Court has been clear that courts must presume that a legislative body acts in good faith. The district court ignored that rule and created a problem that doesn’t exist,” Attorney General Marshall said. “The presumption that state and local officials act for legitimate rather than discriminatory reasons is vital because, without it, courts are transformed into weapons of political warfare. That is exactly what happened here.”
The Alabama-led brief was joined by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr.
To read the full brief, click here.
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