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SUPREME COURT OF LOUISIANA
No. 96-CC-0322 CLEMENT F. PERSCHALL, JR. v. THE STATE OF LOUISIANA ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE NINETEENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE, STATE OF LOUISIANA

KIMBALL, Justice*
This declaratory judgment action challenges the validity of La. Acts 1992, No. 512 [hereinafter Act 512] under the Louisiana Constitution. Act 512 was adopted to resolve the issue in the matter of Chisom v. Edwards, a federal voting rights case that challenged the election of two of this court's seven justices from one district that includes Orleans Parish. The Chisom case was settled by the minority plaintiffs and the State by entry of a Consent Judgment in federal court that memorialized Act 512 and made it effective, which decree is currently under the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. In achieving the settlement remedy, Act 512 deferred redistricting the supreme court election districts into single-member districts until a later time, but implemented an immediate remedy by creating an additional court of appeal district composed of Orleans Parish to be filled by election in 1992, and ordered immediate assignment of the duly elected judge to the supreme court as its eighth member pursuant to this court's constitutional assignment power under article V,

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