Motion to Expedite Consideration of This Appeal

    IN THE 
UNITED STATES GOURT OF APPEALS 

FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT 

No. 87-3463 

RONALD CHISOM, et al., 

Plaintiffs-Appellants, 
V. 

EDWIN EDWARDS, et al., 

Defendants-Appellees. 

MOTION TO EXPEDITE CONSIDERATION 
OF THIS APPEAL 

Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1657, Fed. R. App. P. 45(b), and 

Rule 47.7(5) of this Court's Rules, appellants request that this 

case be given preference in processing and disposition. 

1. This case involves a challenge to the method of 

electing the Justices of the Louisiana Supreme Court. Five 

Justices are elected from single-member districts. The other two 

Justices are elected at-large from the sole multimember district, 

the First Supreme Court Judicial District ("First District"). 

Plaintiffs-appellants are black registered voters who live in the 

First District. They claim that the multimember, at-large form 

of that district dilutes their ability to elect the candidates of 

their choice in violation of section 2 of the Voting Rights Act 

of 1965, 42 U.S.C. § 1973, and the Fourteenth and Fifteenth 

Amendments. They filed their complaint in September 1986. The 

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relief sought is the partition of the First District into two 

single-member districts, one of which would have a black 

majority. 

2. Justices of the Louisiana Supreme Court are elected to 

staggered terms of 10 years each. The two Justices from the 

First District are elected in different years. One of those 

seats is scheduled for election in 1988, the other is scheduled 

for 1990. According to the Louisiana Secretary of State's 

office, the qualifying date for filing for candidacy for the seat 

to be elected in 1988 is July 27-29, 1988. Obviously candidates 
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must decide whether to seek judicial office at an earlier date. 

The decision whether to seek election to a position on the 

Louisiana Supreme Court necessarily depends in large part on a 

potential candidate's perception of the likelihood of success. 

3. If this Court reverses the district court's dismissal 

of the complaint and holds that section 2 of the Voting Rights 

Act applies to judicial elections or that the complaint 

adequately states a claim under the Fourteenth and Fifteenth 

Amendments, the case will have to be remanded to the district 

court for discovery and trial. Plaintiffs-appellants believe 

that many of the liability issues are particularly amenable to 

summary judgment in light of the decision in Meor v. Treen, 574 

F. Supp. 325 (E.D. La. 1983) (three-judge court). 

4. Every effort should be made to ensure that all 

necessary further proceedings are completed by the spring of 

1988, so that a remedy can be put into place in time for the 

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regularly scheduled 1988 election. If plaintiffs ultimately 

prove a violation of either section 2 or the Constitution, they 

clearly will be entitled to relief before the next regularly 

scheduled elections, in 1990 and 1998. Thus, if this case is 

delayed until after the 1988 election, the district court may be 

faced with the necessity of ordering special elections or other 

disruptive measures to provide adequate relief. 

5. In light of the fact that plaintiffs-appellants are 

today also filing their brief on the merits, the case should be 

ready for calendaring by the middle of September. Plaintiffs-

appellants have requested oral argument. 

WHEREFORE, plaintiffs-appellants ask that this case be set 

for oral argument as soon as possible after the submission of the 

briefs. 

Respectfully submitted, 

c7alkkt reA  

WILLIAM P. QUIGLEY 
631 St. Charles Avenue 
New Orleans, LA 70130 
(504) 524-0016 

ROY RODNEY 
643 Camp Street 
New Orleans, LA 70130 
(504) 586-1200 

Dated: July 9, 1987 

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JULIUS L. CHAMBERS 
CHARLES STEPHEN RALSTON 
C. LANI GUINIER 
PAMELA S. KARLAN 

99 Hudson Street, 16th Floor 
New York, New York 10013 
(212) 219-1900 

RON WILSON 
Richards Building, Suite 310 
837 Gravier Street 
New Orleans, LA 70112 
(504) 525-4361 

Counsel for Plaintiffs-
Appellants 



CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE  

I, Pamela S. Karlan, hereby certify that on July ci , 1987, 
I served copies of the foregoing motion upon the attorneys listed 

below via United States mail, first class, postage prepaid: 

Kendall L. Vick, Esq. 
Asst. Atty. General 
La. Dept. of Justice 
234 Loyola Ave., Suite 700 
New Orleans, LA 70112-2096 

M. Truman Woodward, Jr., Esq. 
1100 Whitney Building 
New Orleans, LA 70130 

Blake G. Arata, Esq. 
210 St. Charles Avenue 
Suite 4000 
New Orleans, LA 70170 

A. R. Christovich, Esq. 
1900 American Bank Building 
New Orleans, LA 70130 

Moise W. Dennery, Esq. 
21st Floor Pan American Life Center 
601 Poydras Street 
New Orleans, LA 70130 

Pamela S. Karlan 
Counsel for Plaintiffs-
Appellants 

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