Petteway v. Galveston County

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1 Cite as: 601 U. S. ____ (2023)
K
AGAN, J., dissenting
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
No. 23A521
TERRY PETTEWAY, ET AL. v. GALVESTON COUNTY,
TEXAS,
ET AL.
ON APPLICATION TO VACATE STAY
No. 23A523
DICKINSON BAY AREA BRANCH NAACP, ET AL. v.
GALVESTON COUNTY, TEXAS,
ET AL.
ON APPLICATION TO VACATE STAY
[December 12, 2023]
The applications to vacate stay presented to JUSTICE
ALITO and by him referred to the Court are denied.
J
USTICE KAGAN, with whom JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR and
J
USTICE JACKSON join, dissenting from the denial of appli-
cations to vacate stay.
I would grant the applications to vacate the stay issued
by the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The Fifth Cir-
cuit’s stay itself disrupted the status quo—an election map
concededly lawful under Circuit precedent and nearly iden-
tical to the maps that have governed the election of Galves-
ton County’s commissioners for decades. In imposing a dif-
ferent map, acknowledged to violate current law—on the
theory that the Circuit might someday change that law—
the Court of Appeals went far beyond its proper authority.
I respectfully dissent from this Court’s denial of the appli-
cations.