Federal court appoints special master to decide if NC racial gerrymanders remain unconstitutional
A federal court has found it to be likely that lawmakers did not remedy unconstitutional racial gerrymanders in nine state House and Senate districts, and has appointed a special master to help it make a final determination.
Stanford Law School professor Nathaniel Persily will “assist the Court in further evaluating and, if necessary, redrawing the [districts in question] by developing an appropriate plan remedying the constitutional violations,” according to an order filed Thursday.
The Senate districts are 21, in Hoke County, and 28, in Guilford County. The House districts are 21, in Sampson and Wayne counties, 36, 37, 40, 41, in Wake County, 57, in Guilford County and 105 in Mecklenburg County.
The three-judge panel in North Carolina v. Covington wrote that, after careful review, it is concerned that the nine districts “either fail to remedy the identified constitutional violation or are otherwise legally unacceptable.” The judges comprising the panel are U.S. District Court Judge Catherine Eagles and 4th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge James Wynn, both appointed by former President Barack Obama, and U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Schroeder, who was appointed by George W. Bush.
Read more: http://www.ncpolicywatch.com/2017/10/26/breaking-federal-court-appoints-special-master-decide-nc-racial-gerrymanders-remain-unconstitutional/