U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Jerry Smith issued a scathing dissent Wednesday against the federal judicial panel ruling that blocked Texas’ new congressional map from going into effect for 2026, calling it “the most outrageous conduct by a judge that [he has] ever encountered in a case in which [he has] been involved.”
The 104-page dissent opposes both the merits of the majority’s ruling — which found that Texas Republicans illegitimately considered race in the mid-decade redraw intended to pick up five seats next year in Congress — along with the conduct of Judge Jeff Brown, who authored the majority opinion released on Tuesday. It was released without Smith’s dissent, as he argued that the majority did not give him sufficient notice and time to have it ready for the planned release day.
