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On Tuesday, trial in the preclearance case wrapped up in Washington and, by all accounts, the trial went very well for redistricting plaintiffs.
But the case is complicated and yesterday the three-judge panel hearing the case told the parties in a minute order that they should not expect a ruling for at least 30 days.
The Court directs the parties to comply fully with the page limits and briefing schedule set in this matter so that it can be timely resolved and also notifies the parties that this Court does not anticipate issuing any order within the next 30 days.
That threw things back in the hands of the San Antonio court, which had been considering whether to wait on the D.C. court's ruling before drawing new maps (an anomaly of the Voting Rights Act is that while only the D.C. court can rule on preclearance issues, it has no power to draw replacement maps to fix them - that's the province of courts back in Texas).
Well, with the window for an April primary rapidly closing (if it hasn't already), the San Antonio court entered an scheduling order this morning, directing briefing by February 10 at 6 p.m. on a number of issues related to interim maps and setting a hearing/status conference for February 15 at 8 a.m. (so much for Valentine's Day for lovelorn lawyers).
The court's order is here.
The issues the court asked to be addressed include:
* the meaning of the Supreme Court's 'not insubstantial' standard, including the proper allocation of the burden of proof,
* how the county line rule should be applied in interim maps,
* the applicable law on coalition and crossover districts and how it should be applied for purposes of interim maps, and
* whether the court has the authority to waive preclearance requirements for new precinct boundaries
The court also asked that the parties submit proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law by February 10. The court's order said that it was not announcing an election schedule at this time.
Mean time, settlement talks are still going on being redistricting plaintiffs and the State of Texas. |
