Page:Moore v. Harper.pdf/13

8 Were we to reverse the judgment in Harper I—a step not taken by the North Carolina Supreme Court—the 2021 plans enacted by the legislative defendants would again take effect. The parties accordingly continue to have a “personal stake in the ultimate disposition of the lawsuit.” Chafin v. Chafin, 568 U. S. 165, 172 (2013) (internal quotation marks omitted).

A North Carolina statute with specific application to this proceeding confirms that the controversy before us remains live. Under state law, if “the United States Supreme Court … reverses” the decision in Harper I, the 2021 maps will again become “effective.” 2022 N. C. Sess. Laws p. 10, §2. We have previously found such trigger provisions—in North Carolina, no less—sufficient to avoid mootness under Article III. See Hunt v. Cromartie, 526 U. S. 541, 546, n. 1 (1999) (“Because the State’s 1998 law provides that the State will revert to the 1997 districting plan upon a favorable decision of this Court … this case is not moot.”).

We also have jurisdiction to review the judgment in Harper I under 28 U. S. C. §1257(a). That statute provides for this Court’s exercise of jurisdiction over “[f]inal judgments or decrees rendered by the highest court of a State in which a decision could be had.” Ibid. We have, however, “recurringly encountered situations in which the highest court of a State has finally determined the federal issue present in a particular case, but in which there are further proceedings in the lower state courts to come.” Cox Broadcasting Corp. v. Cohn, 420 U. S. 469, 477 (1975).

Cox Broadcasting delineated “at least four categories of such cases in which the Court has treated the decision on the federal issue as a final judgment for the purposes of 28 U. S. C. §1257,” despite “additional proceedings anticipated in the lower state courts.” Ibid. As relevant, the second category includes those “cases … in which the federal issue, finally decided by the highest court in the State, will survive and require decision regardless of the outcome of