Wisconsin Supreme Court Rejects Bid to Fast-Track Future Redistricting Litigation

By EditorMay 17, 2021
The Wisconsin state supreme court declined on Friday, to include all redistricting cases in its original jurisdiction. The decision was in response to a petition by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty to fast-track redistricting litigation in the state by having that court conduct a full trial and devise remedies at the outset as opposed to just conducting an appellate review of lower court decisions. Read the court decision here. The court declined any blanket rule for redistricting challenges and instead indicated that it would decide on whether original jurisdiction applies on a case-by-case basis. "as drafted, the procedures…
Case Updates, Casedocs, NEWS, Redistricting, Redistricting Litigation, ,
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State Court Invalidates the Wisconsin Legislature’s Retainer of Two Law Firms for Redistricting Litigation. Read the Opinion

By EditorApr 30, 2021
On Thursday, a Wisconsin Circuit Court voided two contracts state legislative leaders had entered into with two law firms in anticipation of redistricting litigation. The court concluded that both contracts are void because the legislative defendants were not authorized [under the state constitution or the various statutes contemplated in the case] to hire those firms for litigation purposes. Summary judgment was granted and defendants are permanently enjoined from authorizing any further payment on the two contracts for any services performed pursuant to them. Some excerpts from the court decision are below. Click here to read the opinion. Circuit Court: The…
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Wisconsin Lawsuit Challenges Legislatures’ Move to Retain Law Firms for Future Redistricting Challenges

By EditorMar 11, 2021
In most states, post-redistricting litigation is a foregone conclusion. In anticipation of just that, the Majority Leader of the Wisconsin Senate and the Speaker of the House entered into contracts for legal services with two law firms on behalf of the legislature in preparation for inevitable legal challenges after maps are enacted. On Wednesday, a group of citizens sued on behalf of taxpayers to void those contracts as unauthorized expenditures of public funds. At issue is a state statute that allows the speaker and majority leader to obtain legal counsel other than from the Wisconsin department of justice, with the…
Case Updates, NEWS, Redistricting Litigation,
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Supreme Court Keeps Partisan Gerrymandering Challenge Alive in Wisconsin

Supreme Court Keeps Partisan Gerrymandering Challenge Alive in Wisconsin

By EditorJul 09, 2018
Wisconsin - Whitford v. Gill This case had been the one to watch because it offered the court an opportunity to expound on when partisan gerrymandering becomes egregious enough to violate the 14th amendment.  In this case for the first time in history, a federal district court invalidated a statewide map as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander.  However, last week the Supreme Court, unceremoniously punted the case back by remanding it for the plaintiffs to properly show they have standing. The only thing the court did confirm in Whitford was that it would not consider 14th amendment based partisan gerrymandering challenges to…
Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, Uncategorized, , ,
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An Update on the Partisan Gerrymander Case Everyone is Talking About

An Update on the Partisan Gerrymander Case Everyone is Talking About

By EditorJan 16, 2018
Wisconsin - It's the case that all the legal and social science geeks have been eyeing for months now.  It offers maybe the best chance for the Supreme Court to finally find a partisan gerrymander that goes too far, something it has considered over the years, but has never done.  This would be a first.  (more…)
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Watch: UW Professor Reviews Wisconsin Partisan Gerrymandering Case in Detail

Watch: UW Professor Reviews Wisconsin Partisan Gerrymandering Case in Detail

By EditorJan 14, 2018
This challenge to Wisconsin's state legislative district map alleges the Wisconsin state assembly drew politically gerrymandered districts to entrench Republican power in 2011.  Plaintiffs claim the gerrymander was so egregious, it violated the first and 14th amendments.  A federal district court panel invalidated the map on those grounds in 2016. Video: UW Professor David Canon gives a detailed overview (40mins) of the case last Fall just before the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyLQBn-C8MM
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Listen: Supreme Court Oral Argument in Wisconsin Partisan Gerrymandering Case Whitford v. Gill

Listen: Supreme Court Oral Argument in Wisconsin Partisan Gerrymandering Case Whitford v. Gill

By EditorJan 14, 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLu61vk-kns&t=102s The case is a challenge to Wisconsin's state legislative district map.  It alleges the Wisconsin state assembly drew politically gerrymandered districts to entrench Republican power in 2011.  Plaintiffs claim the gerrymander was so egregious, it violated the first and 14th amendments.  A federal district court panel invalidated the map on those grounds in 2016.
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Everything You Wanted to Know About the Wisconsin Partisan Gerrymandering Case in One Infographic

Everything You Wanted to Know About the Wisconsin Partisan Gerrymandering Case in One Infographic

By EditorJan 14, 2018
  If you have been meaning to do a Google search and read up on the partisan gerrymandering case over Wisconsin's state legislative district map, but you don't have the 3 hours you will need to bone up on just what "partisan gerrymandering" is and why it might be illegal, here is the infographic for you.  You will be up to snuff before lunch is done. Courtesy of the Brown Political Review:    
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The Efficiency Gap Visualized Through the Decades

The Efficiency Gap Visualized Through the Decades

By EditorJan 18, 2017
The hottest thing in redistricting - if there is such a thing - is undoubtedly the emergence of "Efficiency Gap" analysis, and whether this measurement of how gerrymandered a map is, will receive the imprimatur of the U.S. Supreme Court.  While we wait, The Campaign Legal Center has released this report looking back through the decades to measure the efficiency gap in state legislative and congressional maps.  Their point is that partisan gerrymandering has never been more rampant and excessive than right now, but the charts show other interesting patterns as well.  Read the Report here.
Equal Protection, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Race Rules, , ,
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