“The Justice Department filed a memorandum in federal District Court in New Orleans Friday suggesting that Judge Susie Morgan can and should order that Justice Bernette Johnson’s initial tenure on the Supreme Court under the provisions of a consent decree count toward the seniority that would place her in line to be chief justice next year. The memo, filed by attorneys with the voting section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, notes the Johnson was elected to a temporary seat on the court as a result of the Chisom voting rights lawsuit and that, “Pursuant to the terms of the consent judgment in this case, the tenure she gained in the Chisom seat counts toward her total tenure on the Supreme Court. This Court can and should resolve this question as an issue of federal law under the consent judgment in this case.”
NOLA has the story.