Maps, mayhem and merriment: Where things stand with North Carolina redistricting
If the General Assembly were an army, their troops would be spread too thin.
Lawmakers made a tactical decision this year to redraw judicial district boundaries. On another battle front, they’re trying to correct several previous mapmaking mistakes: Unconstitutional legislative and congressional redistricting, the latter of which they’re still disputing in court.
Despite their own strategic stonewalling, lawmakers asked a federal court this week to expedite a hearing on a special master’s proposed plan for legislative redistricting. Lawmakers requested a Dec. 22 hearing, which is 10 days earlier than the scheduled date and three days before Christmas.
They justified the rush to help the state “seek meaningful Supreme Court review and take additional legislative action if necessary.”
However, the three-judge panel – President Barack Obama nominees U.S. District Court Judge Catherine Eagles and 4th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge James Wynn, as well as U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Schroeder, who was appointed by President George W. Bush – denied the request within a day.
Read more: http://www.ncpolicywatch.com/2017/12/15/maps-mayhem-merriment-things-stand-north-carolina-redistricting/