Maryland’s Sixth District Ruled a Partisan Gerrymander by Federal District Court

By Michelle DavisNov 14, 2018

On November 7th, after managing a protracted series of procedural issues involving a lawsuit that was initially filed in 2013, a federal district court panel invalidated Maryland's 6th congressional district on grounds that it was an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander. Maryland has until early March 2019 to enact a new congressional map or the court will create its own commission to do so. This case is notable since the court overturned the map on 1st amendment grounds instead of the 14th amendment, which until recently had been the basis for most if not all partisan gerrymandering challenges. (more…)

LAW, NEWS, Partisan Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, Uncategorized1st Amendment, congressional, gerrymandering, lawsuit, legal, map, Maryland, partisan gerrymandering, States

Supreme Court Declines to Hear Pennsylvania Republican’s Congressional Map Appeal

By Michelle DavisNov 01, 2018

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. (more…)

LAW, NEWS, Partisan Gerrymandering, POLICY and PRACTICE, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, State Lawslegal, lpstatelaw, PA State Supreme Court, partisan gerrymandering, Pennsylvania, States, Supreme Court, turzai

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 PoliticsGeorgia, National Democratic Redistricting Committee, redistricting, Redistricting Majority Project, REDMAP, state legislature, States

What’s Next in Texas Redistricting

By EditorMar 17, 2017

On March 10th a federal district court panel in San Antonio Texas ruled that the State legislature’s 2011 congressional redistricting map was drawn in manner that violated the U.S. constitution. The court found several districts in the map were the product of intentional racial discrimination and minority vote dilution. While the ruling was a surprise, considering the case had been drawn out for nearly six years, it was also slightly anti-climactic since the ruling referred to a map that Texas no longer uses as its congressional districts. The court had drawn an interim map in 2012 after finding that some…

Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Race RulesBrennan Center, congressional, Latino, racial gerrymandering, state legislature, States, Texas, texas redistricting

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 Litigationcongressional, lpother, lpstatelaw, Maryland, partisan gerrymandering, redistricting, Shapiro, States, Supreme Court

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 RulesAlabama, attorney fees, States

Arizona Supreme Court Case Could Threaten Redistricting Commissions in these 6 States

By EditorMar 10, 2015

Last week the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. The case centers around whether voters by initiative, can transfer the authority to redraw state and congressional boundaries from the state legislature to an independent commission, something Arizona has been doing since 2000. This Brennan Center report lists those states with commissions that could be in jeopardy should the Supreme Court side with the Arizona legislature in this case. Read the report here.

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Supreme Court May Resurrect Alabama Legislative Black Caucus’ Equal Population Claims

By EditorMar 02, 2015

The Alabama Legislative Black Caucus' Supreme Court Case was late last year, and focused on whether that state's 2012 legislative redistricting plan was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. Interestingly, there was a second question presented in the case at the district court level: "whether the 2012 redistricting plans allocate control of local delegations in a manner which violates Equal Protection, effectively denying county residents equal voting rights." This "second" question is actually an equal population challenge, and is based on the redistricting maps' gratuitous breaching of county jurisdiction lines. In Alabama, it is local state legislative delegations that have most of…

Casedocs, Equal Protection, FEATURES, POLICY and PRACTICE, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting LitigationAlabama, lpequalpro, States, Supreme Court

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 RulesAlabama, scotus, States