20 ABBOTT v. PEREZ Opinion of the Court diction here, Brief for Appellees in No. 17–626, p. 34; post, at 14–16, and n. 8, but there is no reason to fear such a flood. Because §1253 expressly authorizes “interlocutory” appeals, there is no question that there can be more than one appeal in a case challenging a redistricting plan. District courts sometimes expressly enjoin the use of districting plans before moving on to the remedial phase. See, e.g., Whitford v. Gill, No. 3:15–cv–421, Doc. No. 190 (WD Wis., Feb. 22, 2017); Harris v. McCrory, No. 1:13–cv– 949, Doc. No. 143 (MDNC, Feb. 5, 2016). But appeals from such orders have not overwhelmed our docket. Our holding here will affect only a small category of additional cases.16 It should go without saying that our decision does not mean that a State can always appeal a district court order holding a redistricting plan unlawful. A finding on liability cannot be appealed unless an injunction is granted or denied, and in some cases a district court may see no need for interlocutory relief. If a plan is found to be unlawful long before the next scheduled election, a court may defer any injunctive relief until the case is completed. And if a plan is found to be unlawful very close to the election date, the only reasonable option may be to use the plan one last time. We appreciate our obligation to heed the limits of our jurisdiction, and we reiterate that §1253 must be strictly construed. But it also must be sensibly construed, and here the District Court’s orders, for all intents and purposes, constituted injunctions barring the State from conducting this year’s elections pursuant to a statute enacted by the Legislature. Unless that statute is uncon—————— 16 The dissent cites exactly two cases (Gunn and Whitcomb) decided during the past half-century in which a party attempted to take an appeal to this Court from a three-judge court order holding a state statute unconstitutional but declining to issue an injunction.