Wisconsin gerrymandering trial will likely be held in April, judge says

Patrick Marley | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MADISON - A federal judge said Tuesday a trial would likely be held in Wisconsin's gerrymandering lawsuit in April so that the U.S. Supreme Court can consider the case as early as the fall of 2019.

"We should get this to the Supreme Court so that when they come back for the 2019-'20 term the case will be in their hands," U.S. District Judge James Peterson said during a hearing.

Peterson, of Wisconsin's western district, said the trial would likely be held April 23 to 26 before a three-judge panel. The panel — which in addition to Peterson includes U.S. District Judge William Griesbach of Wisconsin’s eastern district and Judge Kenneth Ripple of the Chicago-based 7th Circuit Court of Appeals — would likely issue a ruling by summer.

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The lawsuit is seeking to overturn the maps for the state Assembly that favor Republicans in elections. The U.S. Supreme Court considered the case but this summer found those who brought the case didn't have legal standing to do so.

It sent the case back to the lower court and the Democrats have adjusted their approach to establish that they can pursue their arguments that their voting rights and free-association rights were violated.

The Republican-controlled Assembly is seeking to intervene in the case, but the panel hasn't ruled yet whether to allow that.

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If the Assembly is allowed to join the case, its attorneys may ask the panel to pause proceedings until the Supreme Court issues a decision in a North Carolina redistricting case, said Kevin St. John, an attorney for the Assembly.

That would likely slow getting the Wisconsin case back to the Supreme Court.

Redistricting cases are unusual in that they are initially heard by a judicial panel rather than a single judge. The high court must consider all appeals.

No matter what happens in the Wisconsin case, the state will have to draw new legislative and congressional lines after the 2020 U.S. Census.

The maps strongly influence who wins elections for a decade. Republicans were able to draw maps in their favor in 2011 because they controlled all of state government.

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