Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio at Youngstown.
No. 4:22-cv-00612—John R. Adams, District Judge.
Decided and Filed: April 9, 2024
Before: BATCHELDER, MOORE, and KETHLEDGE, Circuit Judges.
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OPINION
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KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge. Reverend Kenneth Simon, Reverend Lewis
W. Macklin, II, and Helen Youngblood (collectively, the “Simon Parties”) sued the Ohio
Redistricting Commission and several of its members, including Governor Mike DeWine,
Secretary of State Frank LaRose, Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives Robert Cupp,
President of the Ohio Senate Matthew Huffman, and Auditor Keith Faber (collectively, the
“Ohio Redistricting Commission”). The Simon Parties allege that Ohio’s congressional districts
violate section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, the First Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment,
and the Fifteenth Amendment. The Simon Parties moved to convene a three-judge court under
28 U.S.C. § 2284, and the Ohio Redistricting Commission opposed that motion and moved to
dismiss the complaint. The district court denied the motion to convene a three-judge court,
granted the motions to dismiss, and denied all other pending motions. For the reasons explained
below, we REVERSE the district court’s order denying the motion for a three-judge court,
VACATE the district court’s order granting the motions to dismiss and denying the motion for
temporary restraining order and motion for class certification, and REMAND the case to the
district court with directions for it immediately to initiate the procedures to convene a three-judge court under 28 U.S.C. § 2284. |