Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam’s office and House Democratic leader David Toscano did not immediately return requests for comment. Marc Elias, a lawyer representing the voters, predicted on Twitter that the justices would rule in his clients’ favor.
The Supreme Court already has ruled once in the case. Last year, the justices voted 7-1 to throw out an earlier ruling that had upheld the challenged districts.
When the lower court got the case back, it concluded that the 11 districts violated the Constitution’s equal protection clause.
READ MORE: The Fifth Risk – The Obamas acquire rights to book about Trump administration chaos for Netflix
“Overwhelming evidence, in this case, shows that, contrary to this constitutional mandate, the state has sorted voters into districts based on the color of their skin,” Judges Barbara Milano Keenan and Arenda L. Wright Allen wrote in their majority opinion. Judge Robert Payne dissented, saying he would have upheld the districts.
In addition to reviewing the lower court ruling, the justices said they also would weigh whether Cox and the GOP-controlled House of Delegates even have a right to bring their appeal. Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, a Democrat, had urged the court not to hear the case at all. He said Virginia law makes clear that the state’s elected attorney general has the authority to speak for the state in federal court.
