Legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin and New York Magazine columnist Errol Louis joined Tuesday’s CNN Newsroom to accuse the Supreme Court of trampling on voting rights when it issued a stay of a case of a lower court ruling that had invalidated Alabama’s new congressional map that didn’t include a second majority-black district.
Host Bianna Golodryga was confused why the Court ruled the way it did. After all, Chief Justice Roberts joined the liberals in dissenting, so she asked Toobin to help clarify. “Jeffrey, let’s begin with you because if you’re to just follow what Chief Justice Roberts’ opinion states, it’s that the lower court followed the law. So, if that was in case true, why did the majority rule the way it did and stay the case? Stay the law,” she wondered.
True to his habit of resorting to hyperbole, Toobin declared: “Because this looks like yet another example of the five very conservative justices on the Court getting ready to change the law, like they’re getting ready to change the law on abortion, but it’s, what’s so important about this case is that it’s not just about one congressional seat in Alabama. It’s about how the Voting Rights Act which is the key law that’s supposed to prevent discrimination on the basis of race in all election-related matters, how that is interpreted.”
When Democrats gerrymander it is no big deal, but when Republicans gerrymander, it is illegal and racist, as Toobin explained: “For literally generations, since 1965, the, the Supreme Court has said you cannot draw district lines, you cannot gerrymander to disadvantage African-American voters, and what the district court held in this case is that what’s the Republicans in Alabama did.”
Managing to keep his pants on, Toobin finally got around to sort of explaining the Court’s logic, which held that it was too close to the primary elections to throw out the map. Toobin wrapped up his remarks by also praising Roberts, “What the district court said will disadvantage blacks will be in place, but that’s what the majority is doing.”
While Toobin may end up disappointed in Roberts once the case is decided on its merits, fellow host Jim Sciutto asked Louis, “Do you view this as, as Jeffrey does, to the Court’s leaning toward signaling that Section Two [of the Voting Rights Act] is going to be gone too?”
Louis agreed and claimed: “This is an activist court, make no mistake about it. This is a five-vote majority in favor of, of rapidly unraveling minority voting rights. I mean, there’s just no question about it…By every standard that the Court has upheld, that would be on its face suspicious and after extensive discovery at the local level, they found that it was unlawful. This Court has said, nope, they’re going to change the law, they’re going to let it go through. It’s going to have implications all over the country.”
CNN is not a news network, there’s just no question about it.
This segment was sponsored by Liberty Mutual.
Here is a transcript of the February 8 show:
CNN Newsroom with Poppy Harlow and Jim Sciutto
2/8/2022
10:00 AM ET
BIANNA GOLODRYGA: Jeffrey, let’s begin with you because if you’re to just follow what Chief Justice Roberts’ opinion states, it’s that the lower court followed the law. So, if that was in case true, why did the majority rule the way it did and stay the case? Stay the law?
JEFFREY TOOBIN: Because this looks like yet another example of the five very conservative justices on the Court getting ready to change the law, like they’re getting ready to change the law on abortion, but it’s, what’s so important about this case is that it’s not just about one congressional seat in Alabama. It’s about how the Voting Rights Act which is the key law that’s supposed to prevent discrimination on the basis of race in all election-related matters, how that is interpreted. For literally generations, since 1965, the, the Supreme Court has said you cannot draw district lines, you cannot gerrymander to disadvantage African-American voters, and what the district court held in this case is that what’s the Republicans in Alabama did. What the Supreme Court did yesterday even without hearing argument said, no, no, we are going to reinstate the Alabama Republicans’ plan for the time being until we, until we hear this case on the merits which, of course, means in the 2022 elections, those laws will be in place. What the district court said will disadvantage blacks will be in place, but that’s what the majority is doing and even John Roberts is against it.
JIM SCIUTTO: Errol Louis, so already in the Shelby case, Section Five of the Voting Rights Act, essentially turned down, that provided some federal oversight of, of communities that make decisions like this, Section Two, by the way, you guys know this better than me, is the one that allows no law to discriminate on the basis of color. That’s where this is going here, right? Do you view this as, as Jeffrey does, to the Court’s leaning toward signaling that Section Two is going to be gone too?
ERROL LOUIS: Oh, sure. This is an activist court, make no mistake about it. This is a five vote majority in favor of, of rapidly unraveling minority voting rights. I mean, there’s just no question about it. Consider this, Jim: the, the three judge panel that approved the, the voting plan that would have created [technical malfunction] were appointed by Donald Trump. I mean, this is not, any way radical or unusual to have a lower court, they’ve been doing this since the 1980s of sort of approve a voting plan that reasonably tries to correct some of the political excesses that go on at the local level. And so, now you have a state that’s 27% black and they have exactly one district out of seven as far as black voters go in Alabama. By every standard that the Court has upheld, that would be on its face suspicious and after extensive discovery at the local level, they found that it was unlawful. This Court has said, nope, they’re going to change the law, they’re going to let it go through. It’s going to have implications all over the country.
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