In one of the blockbuster voting rights cases of the Supreme Court term, a five-justice majority on Thursday concluded that an Alabama congressional map drawn following the 2020 census diluted Black voter representation in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. 

Alabama’s electoral map packed a large number of Black voters into a single district, and the state argued it could not be redrawn to add a second majority-Black district without making race the primary consideration, which it said violated the Constitution. But the majority rejected that argument and instead affirmed a lower court’s finding that Alabama could have done so. 

On this week’s episode of The Term, we welcome Jenner & Block partner Sam Hirsch, an expert in voting rights and redistricting litigation, to explain the stakes of the case and implications of the opinion moving forward. We also discuss a major trademark ruling in favor of Jack Daniels, and the latest financial disclosures from the justices.