Case: Sachs v. Simon

On April 26, 2021, a group of registered voters in Minnesota filed a lawsuit in Minnesota District Court in Ramsey County against the Minnesota Secretary of State challenging the state's then-current state legislative and federal congressional districts as unconstitutional. Represented by private counsel, the plaintiffs alleged that due to population shifts over the last decade, the state's legislative and congressional districts had become unconstitutionally malapportioned in violation of the one person, one vote constitutional requirement, and that the governor and state legislature would be unable to reach a consensus to enact new, lawful plans in time for the upcoming 2022 elections. They sought a declaratory judgment that the districts violated the Minnesota Constitution and Article I, § 2, and the 1st and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. They also sought an injunction preventing the state from using the districts and creating new districts if the governor and legislature didn't create new maps by the February 15, 2022 statutory deadline. Finally, they sought attorneys' fees.

The next day, the plaintiffs petitioned the Minnesota Supreme Court to assume jurisdiction over the suit for adjudication before a special redistricting panel. The plaintiffs also petitioned to consolidate the case with Wattson v. Simon, which also challenged Minnesota’s existing congressional and state legislative districts as unconstitutionally malapportioned in a separate Minnesota District Court in Carver County. In Wattson, on March 22, 2021, the Minnesota Supreme Court had granted the plaintiffs' request for the appointment of a special redistricting panel but stayed the case to see if the legislature would create new maps. On May 20, 2021, the court consolidated the two cases and stayed Sachs. Subsequently, on June 30, 2021 the Minnesota Supreme Court lifted the stay and appointed a special redistricting panel of state court of appeals and district court judges to handle the case, with Judge Louise Dovre Bjorkman presiding. The other members were Judges Diane B. Bratvold, Juanita C. Freeman, Jay D. Carlson, and Jodi L. Williamson.

On July 21, 2021, the special redistricting panel granted plaintiffs’ motion to amend the complaint by adding the League of Women Voters Minnesota as a plaintiff. Subsequently, on August 23, 2021, the special redistricting panel also granted motions to intervene filed by additional voters.

Later that year, on November 18, the special redistricting panel filed an order stating preliminary conclusions, redistricting principles, and requirements for plan submissions. It held that the districts were not presently unconstitutional because the legislature still had until February 15, 2022, to pass redistricting legislation, making the issue not ripe for decision. The panel also ordered the parties to submit proposed redistricting plans by December 7, 2021 with detailed requirements in the order.

On February 15, 2022, the legislature still had not passed a redistricting plan, making the issue finally ripe. The panel held that the districts were unconstitutional because a lot of them had too many or too few people, meaning that voters didn't have equal representation across districts. As a result, the panel enjoined Minnesota's then-current congressional and legislative districts from being used in the 2022 elections and adopted the court's own congressional and legislative plans for use in future primary and general elections, until the legislature replaced them. 970 N.W.2d 42; 970 N.W.2d 56.

Various plaintiffs moved for attorneys' fees in April and May of 2022. Later that year, on August 31, the panel granted a total of $475,925 in attorneys' fees. As of March 2024, there have been no further developments.