I put "District Court" in quotes because this isn't your typical opinion from a district court judge. Instead, three judges--Judge Britt Grant (from the Eleventh Circuit), Judge Ruiz, and Judge Becerra--sat as the district court. Why? Federal law requires constitutional challenges to congressional or statewide legislative apportionment to be heard by a special three-judge district court. And at least one member of that panel must be a circuit judge.
The panel actually found that race played a role in the redistricting process. But that's not enough. The plaintiffs in these cases have to prove that race predominated over other considerations when the map drawers drew up the new lines. In this instance, the panel found that the plaintiffs didn't meet their burden.
You can read the opinion, which is replete with colorful maps, here.
One more procedural wrinkle: if the plaintiffs appeal the denial of injunctive relief, it goes right to the Supreme Court, with no stopover at the 11th Circuit.
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