Releases

Anxiety replaced the U.S. Supreme Court’s normally staid atmosphere during Monday’s oral arguments over Texas’ most recent legislative redistricting, observes Carl Cecere of the Dallas appellate law firm Hankinson LLP. The Court must determine what set of redistricting maps Texas will use in the 2012 election season – one drawn by the Texas Legislature, or another drawn by a panel of federal judges in Texas. And the justices know time is of the essence, he says. “The Court knows that things must move quickly, or else the presidential primary, which already has been rescheduled once, may have to be moved again,” says Cecere. But during arguments, no clear path emerged. “The justices seemed dissatisfied with both of the available options. By statute, the Legislature’s maps cannot go into effect until they have received ‘preclearance’ in a separate court proceeding, but at the same time the Texas court may have gone too far in drawing its own maps.” For more information, contact Dave Moore at 800-559-4534 or dave@androvett.com.