Lawsuit Against Congressional District Withdrawn

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A lawsuit by three Baton Rouge residents challenging the shape of Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District has been dropped.

The plaintiffs filed a notice of dismissal Monday, saying they won't pursue it. The notice gave no reason for the decision.

The lawsuit had criticized the district, currently represented by U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond of New Orleans, as racially gerrymandered and ignoring traditional political and geographic boundaries that should have been considered.

State lawmakers drew the district along the Mississippi River from New Orleans into Baton Rouge to preserve the 2nd District as a majority black district.

The lawsuit sought to have the state's six congressional districts redrawn by a panel of three judges, instead of lawmakers.

Plaintiffs attorney Chris Whittington wouldn't explain why his clients dropped the lawsuit, citing attorney-client privilege.