Three federal lawsuits filed to stop Tennessee’s successful mid-term redistricting, which saw the state’s final Democratic congressional district reshaped to be friendly to Republican candidates for the first time in more than 50 years, have now been consolidated under a case assigned to a U.S. District Court judge appointed by President Donald Trump.
U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-09), State Representative Justin Pearson (D-Memphis), and the Tennessee Democratic Party filed the first lawsuit challenging the redistricting process on May 7.
The lawsuit was assigned to Chief U.S. District Judge William L. Campbell, who was appointed to the bench by Trump in 2017. Last week, Campbell rejected the plaintiffs’ request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) that would have blocked the new districts from taking effect.
It was merged with the second lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of Memphis-based plaintiffs, arguing the white lawmakers in the Tennessee General Assembly intentionally passed new congressional districts that would diminish the voting power of black Tennesseans, by Obama-appointed U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw.
The latest lawsuit to be merged was filed last Wednesday by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the League of Women Voters of Tennessee, and other Memphis-based organizations.
With the lawsuit similarly arguing that Tennessee state lawmakers and Governor Bill Lee were motivated by racism to adopt the new map, highlighting the breakup of the majority-black district that repeatedly reelected Cohen, Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson wrote in his Monday decision, “The court has little difficulty ascertaining that these three cases are all related to one another and that the interests of justice supports reassigning this case to Chief Judge Campbell.”
The Trump-appointed jurist will now preside over consolidation, scheduling, briefing, emergency motions, and other case management for the merged lawsuit, though federal law will likely require the merits of the lawsuits be decided by a panel of three federal judges from within the Middle District of Tennessee.
In addition to the three federal lawsuits, the NAACP filed a lawsuit in state court earlier this month, arguing the redistricting process exceeded the authority given to the General Assembly by Lee when he called the special legislative session.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Tennessee Democratic Lawmakers” by NAACP.
Now there is a picture of the real racists.