Common Cause Florida, Fair Districts Now, the Florida State Conference of the NAACP, and individual voters from across Florida filed litigation in federal court arguing that the Florida Legislature and Governor DeSantis engaged in intentional racial discrimination in violation of the 14th and 15th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution in crafting the state’s current congressional map. The two-week trial in this case began on September 26, 2023 in Tallahassee and concluded on October 3, 2023. The three-judge panel released a decision on March 27, 2024 that upheld the state’s discriminatory congressional map.

This case was formerly known as Common Cause Florida v. Lee. 

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Case Updates

March 27, 2024: The three-judge panel released a decision in the case, upholding the state’s discriminatory congressional map. See our statement here. Find the decision here.

October 3, 2023: The trial in this case concluded in Tallahassee.

September 26, 2023: The trial in this case began in Tallahassee. Get updates from the trial here. Read our release here.

August 18, 2023: The court denied the defendants’ motion for partial summary judgment, finding that the plaintiffs have standing to bring this challenge against Florida’s congressional map. The case moves to trial on September 26, 2023. Read our release here.

February 7, 2023: Plaintiffs Common Cause FL, Fair Districts Now, the Florida State Conference of the NAACP, and current individual plaintiffs were joined by additional individual plaintiffs in filing a second amended complaint alleging that the Governor and Legislature engaged in intentional discrimination in congressional redistricting. The second amended complaint makes clear that line drawing by Governor DeSantis and the state legislature engaged in racial discrimination to form congressional districts, and that any argument that race was not considered is pretextual. Read the complaint here.

November 8, 2022: The three-judge panel denied Defendants’ motion to dismiss our complaint, which argues that Florida’s current congressional maps were created as a product of intentional racial discrimination in violation of the 14^th and 15^th Amendments. The court is satisfied that we have presented the factual allegations on “all of [the] signposts” necessary to support our arguments. This case now moves forward to discovery and eventual trial. Read our release here.

May 11, 2022: The three-judge panel granted Plaintiffs’ motion to amend the complaint. The Amended Complaint argues that Governor DeSantis and the Florida Legislature engaged in intentional discrimination in violation of the 14th and 15th Amendments.  Read the release here.

April 29, 2022: Plaintiffs Common Cause FL, Fair Districts Now, individual plaintiffs were joined by Florida State Conference of the NAACP in filing an amended complaint arguing that Governor DeSantis and the Florida Legislature engaged in intentional discrimination in violation of the 14th and 15th Amendments. The amended complaint lays out the history of racial discrimination in Florida and specific discriminatory actions that Governor DeSantis and the Florida legislature took in crafting the new congressional map, including Governor DeSantis’s comments around CD5, an historically Black district in northern Florida.

April 25, 2022: The Court issued an Order to Show Cause that requires Plaintiffs to file a response as to why the case shouldn’t be dismissed for mootness.

April 22, 2022: After Governor DeSantis signed a new congressional map into law, Defendant Secretary of State Lee filed a motion to dismiss the case as moot.

April 18, 2022:  Plaintiffs filed their proposed congressional district plan and brief, based on Senate Map 8060, which complies with all redistricting requirements under federal and state law, including the Florida Fair Districts Amendment. Plaintiffs also filed an expert analysis of the map which also finds that the proposed plan does not favor or disfavor any political party or incumbent and does not diminish the right of minority voters to elect their candidates of choice.

April 6, 2022: Judge Winsor denied Plaintiff’s motion to recuse and granted the motion to intervene by a group of individual Florida voters represented by the Elias Law Group.

March 25, 2022: Plaintiffs filed a motion requesting that Judge Winsor recuse himself from the case given his extensive advocacy and litigation efforts on behalf of the Florida House of Representatives during Florida’s last redistricting cycle. Read the motion and brief here.

March 11, 2022: Following the initial failure of the Florida Legislature and Governor Ron DeSantis to agree upon a congressional map, Common Cause Florida, Fair Districts Now, and a group of individual plaintiffs from across Florida filed a federal lawsuit in the Northern District of Florida. Plaintiffs asked the federal court to step in to ensure that Florida voters could vote in congressional districts of equal population based on 2020 Census data as required by the US Constitution. Read the complaint here.

February 1, 2022: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis requested an advisory opinion from the Florida Supreme Court on whether he would be required to veto certain configurations of congressional district 5. Common Cause Florida and Fair Districts Now filed a response to the Governor’s request arguing that the Florida Supreme Court should not take jurisdiction because there was no final map for the Court to review and any decision from the court would be impermissible intervention in the legislative process. Read our brief here. The Supreme Court declined to take jurisdiction over the advisory opinion, leaving the question of the constitutionality of congressional district 5 for another day. Read the Florida Supreme Court opinion here.

Selected Case Documents

• Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law (March 27, 2024)
• Amicus brief of interest in redistricting case currently pending in state court by Dr. J. Morgan Kousser (August 18, 2023)
• Plaintiffs’ Second Amended Complaint (February 7, 2023)
• Plaintiffs’ First Amended Complaint (May 11, 2022)
• Court Order Granting Leave to Amend (May 11, 2022)
• Court Order re: Oral Argument on Motion to Amend (May 2, 2022)
• Plaintiffs’ Motion for Leave to File an Amended Complaint (April 29, 2022)
• Plaintiffs’ Response to Court Order to Show Cause and Memorandum in Support of Motion to File Amended Complaing (April 29, 2022)
• Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint (April 29, 2022)
• Defendant’s Suggestion of Mootness/Motion to Dismiss (April 25, 2022)
• Plaintiffs’ Brief in Support of Proposed Map  (April 18, 2022)
• Plaintiffs’ Expert Matt Bareto Analysis of Proposed Map (April 18, 2022)
• Plaintiffs’ Proposed Map SB 8060 (April 18, 2022)
• Order Granting Motion to Intervene (April 6, 2022)
• Order Denying Motion for Recusal  (April 6, 2022)
• Order Regarding Deadlines (April 4, 2022)
• Order Recognizing Dismissal of Some Defendants (March 31, 2022)
• Plaintiffs’ Motion to Recuse Judge Winsor (March 25, 2022)
• Plaintiffs’ Brief in Support of Motion to Recuse Judge Winsor (March 25, 2022)
• Order Setting Case-Management Conference and Requiring Joint Report (March 24, 2022)
• Order Regarding Request for Three-Judge Court  (March 14, 2022)
• Order Transferring Venue and 28 U.S.C. §2284 Notification (March 12, 2022)
• Complaint (March 11, 2022)

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