Source: NC Newsline
Former state Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr announced this week his intention to appeal a three-judge panel’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that partisan gerrymandering results in unconstitutional elections. However, he plans to discuss the matter with the plaintiffs first.
Last week, the three-judge panel dismissed a lawsuit filed by 11 voters against Republican legislative leaders. The lawsuit argued that district lines drawn for partisan advantage violated the constitutional right to fair elections.
Last year, the legislature redrew the state Senate, state House, and congressional district maps, replacing maps that had been created after a Democratic Supreme Court majority ruled the original districts drawn by Republican legislators were unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders.
Republicans gained control of the Supreme Court in the 2022 elections and swiftly reversed the previous Democratic rulings. In 2023, Republican justices stated that partisan gerrymandering issues are political and not within the courts’ purview.
The Supreme Court’s reversal enabled Republican legislators to redraw the districts without concern for state court oversight.
As a result, Republicans ensured their party’s candidates would dominate the state’s congressional delegation once again.
In 2022, seven Democrats and seven Republicans were elected under a congressional district plan devised by three special masters, including Orr. The current year’s congressional district map features 10 strong Republican districts, three strong Democratic districts, and one toss-up.
Republican legislators’ lawyers requested the three-judge panel to dismiss the latest suit, arguing that the Supreme Court had determined judges should not address partisan redistricting complaints.
Orr attempted to convince the panel of three Superior Court judges that he was presenting a new issue not addressed in the 2023 Supreme Court opinion. He argued that fair elections constitute an “unenumerated right,” not explicitly outlined in the constitution but foundational to other constitutional guarantees.
The three-judge panel, all Republicans, rejected this argument, stating the case involved the same underlying issues decided by the Supreme Court in 2023.
The lawsuit’s issues are “clearly political,” and there is “no judicially discoverable or manageable standard to decide them.”
This was the only redistricting case in state court. Federal lawsuits alleging racial gerrymandering in congressional and legislative districts are scheduled to be heard next year.
