DC: The U.S. Supreme Court stayed a lower court ruling late Tuesday that concluded nearly a dozen legislative district maps in Texas were the product of intentional racial discrimination.
The ruling ensures that new district maps will not be produced before the 2018 federal elections. The justices divided 5-4 in issuing the ruling.
A three-judge district court ruled in August that state lawmakers intentionally discriminated against minorities when crafting the current district map, concluding the legislature drew legislative lines which intentionally undercut the electoral power of Latinos and blacks. The districts implicated in the ruling are the 27th and 35th congressional districts and nine of the state’s 150 state legislature seats.
The stay will remain in effect until Texas files its appeal of the lower court ruling, which the justices are likely to take up.
In a somewhat unusual move, Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan voted to register their dissent from the Court’s decision. Votes on orders of this nature are only made public at the request of the justices, indicating that the Court’s four Democratic appointees have serious misgiving about the decision.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton praised the ruling.
“The Supreme Court confirmed what the rest of us already knew: Texas should be able to use maps in 2018 that the district court itself adopted in 2012 and Texas used in the last three election cycles,” Paxton said in a statement. “In 2012 the Supreme Court ordered the district court to adopt lawful maps, and we believe it did so. We are eager to proceed with this case in the high court.” more here
It’s kinda hard to read some legal headlines. For instance “Lower courts deny ban on anti discriminatory junctions to proceed further against anti-injuctionary holds barred from pro-proceedings toward hearings discriminatory from further injunctions”. Yeah, right. I can figure that out, via 10th grade geometry. WHAT THE FUCK? How many quadruple-negatives constitute a tar and feathering? I say ONE.
In other words, the dems will not be able to gerrymander more hispanic and black congressmen into office from Texas in 2018. Good news.
Liberals pass laws when they have the majority and expect YOU to follow “the law of the land” –you law and order Conservatives.
When they are out of power they go judge-shopping.
Or like guns, marijuana, and sanctuary cities, they ignore the law and do whatever they want.
Liberals are better at politics, face it.
It comes down to the Judges. When Ginsburg croaks and Breyer retires Trumps greatest legacy to America is to appoint two actual, conservative Judges that are young enough to remain on the bench for a good many years. Whatever it takes, this is critically important to the future of your country.
If you want to talk about bastardized district borders, I only have three words – Shelia Jackson Lee.