Moore v. Lee

Plaintiffs contend that the state’s new state legislative maps are an extreme partisan gerrymander in violation of the Tennessee Constitution.

The suit alleges that, to achieve unfair partisan advantage, the Republican-controlled Tennessee legislature split more counties than necessary to maintain equipopulous districts. It also contends that the state senate map fails to include consecutively numbered districts for those districts that lie within Davidson County.

On April 6, 2022, a three-judge panel temporarily enjoined Tennessee’s new state senate map, finding that the map violated the Tennessee Constitution. The panel declined to temporarily block the state house map. The panel ordered the legislature to adopt a new senate plan within fifteen days. Should the legislature fail to timely produce a new plan within the allotted time period, the panel will implement its own map just for the 2022 election cycle.

On April 13, 2022, a 4–1 majority of the Tennessee Supreme Court reversed the trial court, concluding that the lower court had invalidated the legislature’s new state senate map too close to the upcoming 2022 election cycle. The Court expressed no opinion on whether the trial court properly ruled that the senate map violated the Tennessee Constitution.

On March 27, 2023, the three-judge panel ruled that the plaintiffs’ claims may proceed to trial.