|
 |
 |
|
West Virginia looks to high court in redistricting battle
-
01/14/12 01:05 PM ET
West Virginia officials are asking the Supreme Court to weigh in on a congressional redistricting map thrown out by a lower court.
The officials filed an appeal to Chief Justice John Roberts on Friday, essentially asking the high court to let the map drawn by the West Virginia legislature stand.
That map was approved and signed into law after making very minor changes to the state’s map.
But in a split decision, a three-judge federal panel ordered state lawmakers to come up with another plan by Jan. 17. The judges charged that, by making so few changes, lawmakers had not adequately divided the population in the three congressional districts. Four West Virginia officials, all Democrats, had signaled earlier this week that they would take their case to the Supreme Court, arguing that the judiciary should respect the legislature’s map.
In a release, the state’s governor, secretary of state and heads of the West Virginia Senate and House said that they would ask for an immediate stay on the lower court ruling.
“As I have consistently maintained, redistricting is by its very nature a legislative function,” Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said in a statement.
“The Senate president and I are confident that the congressional redistricting plan, which was adopted overwhelmingly by the legislature, with bipartisan support, meets all constitutional requirements,” House Speaker Richard Thompson added.
In other redistricting news, a court-appointed official in Connecticut made minor changes to that state’s five congressional districts in a draft report released Friday.
The officials filed an appeal to Chief Justice John Roberts on Friday, essentially asking the high court to let the map drawn by the West Virginia legislature stand.
That map was approved and signed into law after making very minor changes to the state’s map.
But in a split decision, a three-judge federal panel ordered state lawmakers to come up with another plan by Jan. 17. The judges charged that, by making so few changes, lawmakers had not adequately divided the population in the three congressional districts. Four West Virginia officials, all Democrats, had signaled earlier this week that they would take their case to the Supreme Court, arguing that the judiciary should respect the legislature’s map.
“As I have consistently maintained, redistricting is by its very nature a legislative function,” Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said in a statement.
“The Senate president and I are confident that the congressional redistricting plan, which was adopted overwhelmingly by the legislature, with bipartisan support, meets all constitutional requirements,” House Speaker Richard Thompson added.
In other redistricting news, a court-appointed official in Connecticut made minor changes to that state’s five congressional districts in a draft report released Friday.
Most Viewed RSS Feed »
