Benisek v. Lamone
Benisek v. Lamone | |
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Holding | |
The District Court's denial of injunctive relief against the use of Maryland's 2011 redistricting maps was not an abuse of discretion. | |
Court membership | |
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Case opinion | |
Per curiam |
Lamone v. Benisek | |
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Argued March 26, 2019 Decided June 27, 2019 | |
Full case name | Linda H. Lamone, Administrator, Maryland State Board of Elections, et al. v. O. John Benisek, et al. |
Docket no. | 18-726 |
Citations | 588 U.S. ____ (more) |
Holding | |
Partisan gerrymandering claims present political questions beyond the reach of the federal courts. | |
Court membership | |
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Case opinions | |
Majority | Roberts, joined by Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh |
Dissent | Kagan, joined by Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor |
Benisek v. Lamone, 585 U.S. ____ (2018), and Lamone v. Benisek, 588 U.S. ____ (2019), were a pair of decisions by the
Overview
Benisek v. Lamone, a case challenging the denial of the
Background
In the United States, the number of representatives for each state in the House of Representatives is based on that state's population. Population counts are derived from the results of the United States census, which is conducted every ten years. Because population figures are updated following each new census, redistricting, or changing the boundaries of the state's districts, may be required to conform with changes in population. Redistricting is typically done by representatives of the political party in power within the state and can result in the practice of gerrymandering, creating oddly-shaped districts that favor one party's or group's chances of election. The Supreme Court has ruled that gerrymandering based on racial and ethnic grounds is unconstitutional and has stated that partisan gerrymandering is also likely unconstitutional, but has yet to develop a valid means to determine when partisan gerrymandering has occurred.[2]
Maryland redistricting
For the 2010 census, the Census Bureau recommended that states count incarcerated prisoners as living in the location of their group quarters, rather than at their home location. Within Maryland, most prisoners are
Maryland has traditionally been a Democratic-heavy state, and according to FiveThirtyEight, non-gerrymandered or proportionally partisan districts in Maryland could range from four to six likely Democrat seats,[4] suggesting that a proper redistricting of the state's eight districts would result in four to six districts favoring Democrats, and two to four either favoring Republicans or remaining competitive. Democratic analysts envisioned the possibility of an "8–0 map" which aspired to shut Republicans out of elections altogether; however, this may have endangered some incumbents, who rejected the proposal because they wanted to stay in office more easily.[5] However, Democratic leaders saw the potential to create a district map that would give Democrats seven districts to the Republicans' one, or the "7–1 map". The state Democrats drew on services from the National Committee for an Effective Congress (NCEC) to determine how to create this "7–1 map".[6] The issue was how to remap the two Republican-leaning districts, the 1st and the 6th. After reviewing options, advisers and mapmakers settled on remapping only the 6th district, because redrawing the 1st district to achieve their goal would have split the district across the Chesapeake Bay, an undesirable outcome.[6] Ultimately, a 7–1 map favoring Democrats was implemented.[4][5]
Benisek v. Lamone
First legal challenge
The new redistricting was initially challenged in Fletcher v. Lamone, a case brought by a number of African-American voters who believed that the new map diluted the strength of the African-American vote, violating the requirement of equal representation under
Second legal challenge
A separate challenge arose from other residents of the state in 2013. Aware that the District Court of Maryland had ruled that the redistricting map was not considered partisan based on Fletcher v. Lamone, these citizens challenged the redistricting's use of "narrow ribbons and orifices" that were used to connect non-contiguous regions having a targeted population distribution in the state's 4th, 6th,
The case, filed as Benisek v. Mack, was reviewed by Judge James K. Bredar who deemed that none of the complaints brought by the plaintiffs were actionable and denied the request for a standard three-judge hearing in April 2014. Judge Bredar did find that the case represented a substantially different subset of residents than Fletcher and rejected the defense's argument for res judicata. In response to the plaintiffs' arguments, Judge Bredar found that the plaintiffs did not provide an effective measure to demonstrate partisan gerrymandering as suggested by Vieth v. Jubelirer, thereby nullifying their Article One and 14th Amendment claims, and that the affected citizens still had their rights to participate in the political process intact, thus denying any relief based on the 1st Amendment claim.[11] The plaintiffs appealed to the Fourth Circuit Appeals Court, but the appeal was summarily denied in October 2014 on the basis that their claims were insubstantial, as determined by Bredar.[12] The plaintiffs issued a petition for writ of certiorari from the Supreme Court of the United States, arguing that because the District Courts are required to hear any substantial constitutional challenges to state redistricting under Section 2284 of Title 28, the Appeals Court's dismissal based on the "insubstantial" claim was inappropriate.[13] The case, Shapiro v. McManus, was accepted by the Supreme Court in June 2015, with oral arguments heard in November 2015 and the decision issued in December 2015.[14] The court unanimously agreed with the petitioners that the claims presented were not insubstantial, thus clearing the bar set by Goosby v. Osser, and ordered a full three-judge hearing of the case at the District Court; the court did not otherwise comment on the merits of the petitioners' complaints related to the redistricting.[15][16]
Second hearing
The new hearing before Circuit Judge
Supreme Court
Seeking an expedited ruling, the plaintiffs filed a request for a jurisdictional statement to the Supreme Court on September 1, 2017, to reverse the District Court's denial of summary judgement and injunctions and placing the case on hold.[20] While the Supreme Court declined to reverse the District Court's orders, the court did agree to hear the case on its merits on December 8, 2017.[21]
Oral arguments were heard on March 28, 2018. In contrast to Gill v. Whitford, the justices seemed to indicate that the redistricting of Maryland's 6th district was a much more aggressive partisan gerrymandering than that in Wisconsin, but still debated whether they had a proper measure to evaluate partisan division, whether the court should be involved in that decision, and whether such matters are to be regulated through federal or state legislation.[22]
The Court issued its per curiam decision affirming the Appeals' Court ruling on June 18, 2018, the same day that the Gill decision was announced. In the decision, the court did not address the merits of the gerrymandering case, but instead found that the District Court, in denying the issuing of an injunction on the use of the redistricting maps, had not engaged in an "abuse of discretion", given both the pending legal challenge of Gill and the need for "due regard for the public interest in orderly elections".[23] The decision further argued that the plaintiffs had waited too long from the time that the redistricting maps were certified to file their case.[24]
Lamone v. Benisek
Following the per curiam decision and the conclusion of Gill v. Whitford, the District Court rescheduled hearings on the case on October 4, 2018. The District Court subsequently ruled on November 7, 2018, finding for summary judgement in the plaintiffs' favor that the revised boundaries of the 6th district were unconstitutional, and required the state to redraw its district maps in a more neutral manner by March 7, 2019, with the new maps to be approved by the court; otherwise, the court would assign an independent three-member commission to oversee the redistricting, ensuring that new maps would be available prior to the 2020 election.[25] State governor Larry Hogan, a Republican, had stated his intent to let the ruling stand and engage with the state's general assembly to pursue redistricting, but the attorney general Brian Frosh, a Democrat, stated his intention to appeal the District Court ruling, potentially directly to the United States Supreme Court. Frosh also sought a stay of the District Court's redistricting order while the matter of appeal was under discussion.[26]
Supreme Court
Frosh petitioned the Supreme Court to hear the new challenge of whether the District Court could make its summary judgement, and the court agreed in early January 2019 to hear the case. This new case was heard as Lamone v. Benisek (Docket 18-726)[27] alongside Rucho v. Common Cause, another partisan gerrymandering case from North Carolina.[28] The case was decided on June 27, 2019; a 5–4 majority determined that claims of partisan gerrymandering present a nonjusticiable political question that could not be handled by the federal court system. Along with Rucho, the Supreme Court vacated the District Court's judgement and remanded the case to that court, effectively leaving the existing redistricting maps in place.
References
- ^ For a discussion of vote dilution, see the working paper from the University of Chicago Law School, Addressing Minority Vote Dilution Through State Voting Rights Acts
- ^ Reporter, Ariane de Vogue, CNN Supreme Court (December 5, 2016). "Supreme Court tackles racial gerrymander cases". CNN. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
{{cite web}}
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has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Morello, Carol (April 15, 2010). "Maryland changes how prisoners are counted in census". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
- ^ a b "The Atlas of Redistricting". FiveThirtyEight. January 25, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
- ^ a b Dave Daley (June 25, 2017). "How Democrats Gerrymandered Their Way to Victory in Maryland". The Atlantic. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
- ^ a b c Daley, Dave (June 25, 2017). "How Democrats Gerrymandered Their Way to Victory in Maryland". The Atlantic. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
- ^ RWT-11cv3220
- ^ 11-1178. 133 S.Ct. 29 (2012)
- ^ Wagner, Peter (July 13, 2012). "Beginning of the end for 'prison-based gerrymandering'". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
- ^ a b https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/legal-work/D.Md_Shapiro_1st_Complaint.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- D. Md.2014).
- 4th Cir.2014).
- ^ "Petition for a Writ of Certiorari" (PDF). February 9, 2015.
- ^ Barnes, Robert (November 1, 2015). "D.C. law student takes case against Md. gerrymandering to Supreme Court". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
- ^ Shapiro v. McManus, No. 14-990, 577 U.S. ___ (2015).
- ^ Barnes, Robert (December 8, 2015). "Supreme Court says challenge of Maryland district lines may proceed". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
- ^ https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/legal-work/Shapiro%20v.%20McManus%20Op.%20on%20MTD.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ Hicks, Josh (July 13, 2017). "Md. redistricting case could stall while Supreme Court hears Wisconsin case". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
- ^ https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/legal-work/Benisek_v_Lamone_Order_EnteringStay_08.24.17.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/legal-work/17-333_JurisdictionalStatement.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ Barnes, Robert (December 8, 2017). "Supreme Court will take up a second gerrymandering case this term". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
- ^ Barnes, Robert (March 28, 2018). "Even on second look, Supreme Court seems stumped on gerrymandering issue". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
- ^ de Vogue, Ariane (June 18, 2018). "Supreme Court sidesteps partisan gerrymandering cases, let maps stand for now". CNN. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
- ^ Liptak, Adam (June 18, 2018). "Supreme Court Sidesteps Decision on Partisan Gerrymandering". The New York Times. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
- ^ Barker, Jeff (November 7, 2018). "Federal judges say Maryland's 6th congressional district is unconstitutional; map must be redrawn for 2020". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
- ^ Dresser (November 15, 2018). "Michael". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
- ^ Liptak, Adam (January 4, 2019). "Supreme Court Takes Up New Cases on Partisan Gerrymandering". The New York Times. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
- ^ Barnes, Robert (March 26, 2019). "Brett Kavanaugh the new player as Supreme Court returns to partisan gerrymandering". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
External links
- Text of Benisek v. Lamone, 585 U.S. ____ (2018) is available from: Google Scholar Justia Oyez (oral argument audio) Supreme Court (slip opinion)