NAACP Seek To Recall Callais Judgment So It Can Seek Reconsideration

On April 29, the Supreme Court decided Callais. That same day, the non-African American Plaintiffs asked the Court to issue the judgment immediately. This request should not have been surprising. Louisiana is in the middle of the election, and time is of the essence. Justice Alito called for a response to be filed on April 30. The NAACP filed a response. I suggested that the savvy strategic move would have been to file at the same time a motion for reconsideration. To be sure, the rules provide 25 days to file such a motion, but in a fast moving case it would have been prudent to file immediately. The NAACP did not file such a motion. Instead, the opposition stated that they were thinking about it:

The Robinson Appellants oppose Appellees’ Application for expedited issuance of the Court’s judgment in this matter (the “Application”). This Court should afford Appellants the opportunity to consider seeking rehearing in the ordinary course. See Supreme Court Rule 44.1 (allowing 25 days for a party to seek rehearing of any judgment of this Court).

What was there to think about? The case is on the emergency docket. There is not time for the usual 25 day period to leisurely consider the matter. Again, I think there was a strategic miscue here. The NAACP lost a race on the shadow docket. And what would the NAACP have argued in such a motion for reconsideration? It would be clear they were (to use Justice Alito’s words) trying to “run out the clock.” The delay is the point.

Today, the NAACP has formally asked the Court to withdraw the judgment to give the NAACP the full period to file a motion for reconsideration.

The sole basis cited in the Order for granting Appellees’ Application and issuing the judgment forthwith was that “[Robinson Appellants] have not expressed any intent to ask this Court to reconsider its judgment.” However, in the second sentence of Appellants’ opposition to the Application, Appellants requested “the opportunity to consider seeking rehearing.” See Robinson Appellants’ Response to Appellees’ Application for Issuance of a Copy of the Opinion and Certified Copy of the Judgment Forthwith, at 2, No. 25A1197 (Apr. 30, 2026). In support, Appellants cited Rule 44.1, noting that it allows parties twenty-five days to seek rehearing of any judgment of this Court. Appellants intend to request rehearing in this case, and, accordingly, respectfully request that this Court recall the judgment, reconsider its order granting the Application, and deny the Application. Alternatively, Appellants respectfully ask the Court to recall the judgment and provide them fifteen days from the date of its decision in this case, or until May 14, 2026, to seek rehearing.

I think this ship has sailed. Proceedings are already ongoing in the lower court. Justice Jackson made the case for why the judgment should not be issued forthwith. No one joined her. I don’t see much ground for reconsideration here.