On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari to Republican lawmakers in the Pennsylvania legislature after a January ruling by the Pa. State Supreme Court invalidating the congressional map enacted by the body in 2011. The state supreme court declared the map a partisan gerrymander in violation of the state constitution and replaced the old map with a very different one.
The denial to hear the case came with no explanation, leaving the media and academia without very much to say at the outset. The appeal had asked the court to determine if the Pennsylvania Constitution can restrict a map enacted by the legislature pursuant to the elections clause of the United States Constitution; and whether the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, may, consistent with the elections clause, adopt a redistricting plan as a remedy solely for state-law violations. Lawmakers also questioned whether it was proper for the court in developing a replacement map, to stray so far away from the original. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to answer all these questions. The court-drawn map is in effect for the 2018 midterm elections.
