Georgia’s Mid-Decade Redistricting Causes a Stir

Georgia’s Mid-Decade Redistricting Causes a Stir

By EditorMar 20, 2017
Georgia - Traditionally reserved for the beginning of the decade, redistricting is on the table again in Georgia as a proposal for new House districts has cleared that chamber and is being considered in the Georgia senate.  As a practical matter, redistricting usually only happens once in a decade.  Although, in most states there is no law that would limit it to that, the task is such a delicate, complex and highly controversial one that most do not dare to go through it any more than they have to. Georgia's republican controlled legislature has got the attention of former attorney general Eric Holder,…
NEWS, POLICY and PRACTICE, Redistricting, Strategy and Politics, , , , , ,
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Maryland Judge Orders Legislative Leaders to Testify in Partisan Gerrymandering Case

Maryland Judge Orders Legislative Leaders to Testify in Partisan Gerrymandering Case

By EditorFeb 02, 2017
Maryland - Nearly four years after Bethesda, Md. resident Stephen M. Shapiro and other Maryland voters filed a partisan gerrymandering lawsuit against Maryland's congressional district map, a judge has ordered the Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates and the President of the Maryland Senate to testify in the case and turn over documents, rejecting claims of legislative privilege. Shapiro's case has wound its way through the courts from its initial filing in 2013, you can read the original complaint here.   A district court judge dismissed the case but Shapiro won his appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled…
NEWS, POLICY and PRACTICE, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, , , , , , , ,
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Supreme Court Orders Stay in North Carolina Redistricting Case

Supreme Court Orders Stay in North Carolina Redistricting Case

By EditorJan 11, 2017
Washington DC - The full text of the order is below:   TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2017 ORDER IN PENDING CASE 16A646 NORTH CAROLINA, ET AL. V. SANDRA LITTLE COVINGTON, ET AL. The application for stay of the order of the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, case No. 1:15-CV-399, entered on November 29, 2016, presented to The Chief Justice and by him referred to the Court is granted, pending the timely filing of a statement as to jurisdiction. Should such statement be timely filed, this order shall remain in effect pending this Court’s action on…
NEWS, Race in Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Race Rules, , , ,
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Chief Justice Roberts Requests Response in NC Racial Gerrymandering Case

Chief Justice Roberts Requests Response in NC Racial Gerrymandering Case

By EditorJan 08, 2017
North Carolina - A three-judge federal appeals court panel ruled that 28 state legislative districts in North Carolina's 2010 redistricting map were unconstitutional racial gerrymanders that diluted the votes of black and Hispanic voters.  The state has appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the lower federal court has already given an order to the North Carolina legislature to start on and finalize a new map for special state elections later in 2017. The Republican-dominated legislature would rather wait and see what the Supreme Court has to say, especially since a newly elected Democratic governor is waiting in the wings.  This…
NEWS, Race in Redistricting, Racial Gerrymandering, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, Redistricting Race Rules, , ,
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Texas Federal Court Imposes Preclearance on City of Pasadena

Texas Federal Court Imposes Preclearance on City of Pasadena

By EditorJan 08, 2017
Pasadena, Texas - The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas in this ruling invalidated the city's move from an eight-member district redistricting map to a mixed map of six single member districts and two at-large seats for electing its city council.  The court's finding of minority vote dilution (of Hispanic voters) under section 2 of the Voting Rights Act includes an order to subject the city to preclearance requirements, which would mean election officials must clear any future redistricting changes to the Justice Department for approval.  Read the initial case filing by plaintiffs here. There were several…
Local Redistricting, NEWS, Race in Redistricting, Redistricting, Redistricting Race Rules, Voting Rights Act, , , , ,
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NPR and Scotusblog Recap Oral Arguments in Racial Gerrymandering Case

NPR and Scotusblog Recap Oral Arguments in Racial Gerrymandering Case

By EditorDec 06, 2016
Wash. DC - NPR's Nina Totenberg recaps Supreme Court oral arguments in , Bethune-Hill v. Virginia State Board of Elections and McCrory v. Harris;  the racial gerrymandering claims arising from the Virginia state legislative and the North Carolina congressional map, which were heard on Monday.  Click below for audio. Read Scotusblog's analysis here.    
NEWS, Race in Redistricting, Racial Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Race Rules, , , , , , , ,
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U.S. Supreme Court: Shelby County Cannot Recoup Attorney Fees for Winning Landmark Voting Rights Case

U.S. Supreme Court: Shelby County Cannot Recoup Attorney Fees for Winning Landmark Voting Rights Case

By EditorJan 25, 2016
Today the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Shelby County, Alabama. It means that Shelby is stuck with the $2 million bill for winning its landmark case against the Voting Rights Act. It had filed a petition to recover its attorneys fees, which is allowed under the Act but a lower court denied the claim and the Supreme Court agreed. The lower court ruled on the basis that the litigation did not advance the law's anti-discriminatory purpose. Read the NYT article here.
LAW, NEWS, POLICY and PRACTICE, Redistricting, Redistricting Litigation, Redistricting Race Rules, ,
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Supreme Court Looks Past Weak Pleadings to Find Potential Racial Gerrymander in Alabama Map

Supreme Court Looks Past Weak Pleadings to Find Potential Racial Gerrymander in Alabama Map

By EditorApr 14, 2015
The Supreme Court’s recent opinion remanding a challenge by Black state officials to the 2012 Alabama Legislative district map back to a federal district court is relatively short for a majority opinion but chock full of legal nuggets as the justices’ focused on several bases for returning this case back to a lower court to reconsider its ruling against the plaintiffs. In all, the decision discussed four distinct issues; two procedural and two substantive – it felt the lower court bungled. If we had to explain the four corners of the Alabama opinion in one sentence it would be; The…
NEWS, Racial Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, Redistricting Race Rules, ,
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Listen: Supreme Court Oral Argument in Alabama Racial Gerrymander Case

Listen: Supreme Court Oral Argument in Alabama Racial Gerrymander Case

By EditorDec 08, 2014
  Listen to the Supreme Court's oral arguments in the consolidated cases; Alabama Legislative Black Caucus v. Alabama and  Alabama Democratic Conference v. Alabama. Democratic lawmakers in the Alabama legislature claim the Republican-led legislature packed Black voters into state legislative districts to dilute their voting power resulting in an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The court heard oral arguments on November 12th 2014.    
Equal Protection, LAW, NEWS, POLICY and PRACTICE, Race in Redistricting, Racial Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, Redistricting Race Rules, ,
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