Riley v. Kennedy

Disclosure: Akin Gump represented the respondents in this case.

Holding: (1) Because the district court did not render its final judgment until May 1, 2007, Governor Bob Riley's May 18 notice of appeal was timely. Under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, "any appeal" from the decision of a three-judge district court "shall lie to the Supreme Court," but the appeal must be filed within 60 days of a district court's entry of a final judgment. Yvonne Kennedy maintains that the district court's August 2006 order qualified as a final judgment, while the governor maintains that the district court's final judgment was the May 1 order vacating Juan Chastang's appointment to the Mobile County Commission. A final judgment "ends the litigation on the merits and leaves nothing for the court to do but execute the judgment." The August 2006 order declared that preclearance was required for the Stokes v. Noonan and Riley v. Kennedy decisions, but left unresolved Kennedy's demand for injunctive relief. An order resolving liability without addressing a plaintiff's requests for relief is not final. (2) For Section 5 purposes, the 1985 act never gained "force or effect." Therefore, Alabama's reinstatement of its prior practice of gubernatorial appointment did not rank as a "change" requiring preclearance.

Judgment: Reversed and remanded, 7-2, in an opinion by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on May 27, 2008. Justice Stevens filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justice Souter joined.

Briefs and Documents

Pre-grant

• Opinions below (M.D. Ala., Alabama Supreme Court)
• Jurisdictional statement
• Motion to dismiss or affirm

[edit] Post-grant

• Brief for Appellant Honorable Bob Riley, Governor of Alabama
• Brief for Appellee Yvonne Kennedy

Amicus briefs

• Brief for Abigail Thernstrom and Stephen Thernstrom in Support of Appellant
• Brief for the Project on Fair Representation in Support of Appellant
• Brief for the States of Florida, South Carolina, Alaska, Louisiana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Virginia in Support of Appellant
• Brief for Former State Court Justices Charles Fried and Thomas R. Phillips in Support of Appellant
• Brief for American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Alabama in Support of Appellee
• Brief for the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in Support of Appellee
• Brief for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., in Support of Appellee
• Brief for the United States of America in Support of Appellees in Part