The number of justices on the Louisiana Supreme Court would increase from seven to nine under a bill that easily passed the state Senate last week.
SB 163, authored by state. Sen. Patrick McMath (R-Covington), passed the Senate by a vote of 36-2 on April 27 with bipartisan support. The aim of the bill is to ensure that the districts from which justices are selected are substantially equal in population, according to the state legislature’s analysis of the bill.
The bill, which would also subject the court’s electoral districts to regular redistricting, is co-sponsored by Sen. Jimmy Harris (D-New Orleans).
Currently, the Supreme Court districts are only subject to change if two-thirds of state lawmakers in the House of Representatives and the Senate approve. In contrast, the proposed constitutional amendment would call on the legislature to redistrict each judicial district based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s decennial population count.
SB 163, which would take effect Jan. 1, 2025, and set up a statewide vote on Oct. 1 of this year, appears to be a straightforward legal reform, according to professor Ken Levy of Louisiana State University’s Paul M. Hebert Law Center.
“It all looks good to me,” Levy told the Louisiana Record. “It looks like there’s basically going to be fairer representation of the Louisiana population by the Supreme Court. And it’s bipartisan, so I don’t think there are any ulterior motives here.”
Certain parts of the state have grown much faster than others, he said. So maps from decades ago don’t accurately reflect population distributions today, according to Levy.
“The unfairness is really with the lower-populated districts having more of a say” in Supreme Court elections, he said.
The U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent population data puts Louisiana’s population at about 4.61 million. So creating nine state Supreme Court districts for electing justices would mean each district would represent about 518,000 residents.
Under the proposal, which is now being considered in the Louisiana House, justices would continue to be limited to 10-year terms, and they couldn’t run for re-election once they reach age 70.
If the House passes the bill and it’s signed by Gov. John Bel Edwards, Levy expects state voters would approve it in October.
“My understanding is that most constitutional amendments pass anyway,” he said. “Basically, people would read it as, ‘Do you want equitable representation on the Supreme Court?’”