“There’s no reason to think that the result would be any different, especially under a very short timeline,” Hamilton said.

“Not if they act in the same stubborn fashion they’ve been acting in,” Payne responded.

Attorneys for the House GOP said the court should reject Grofman’s efforts because in order to undo racial gerrymandering, Grofman, too, was allowing race to guide his decisions.

The case centers on a metric known as BVAP, or black voting age population. During the 2011 redistricting after the 2010 census, House Republicans used a 55 percent BVAP threshold to redraw a dozen districts, most of which were represented by African-American lawmakers. Republicans have said they were trying to comply with civil rights laws in place at the time that prevented “retrogression” in black voting power that might prevent minority communities from being able to elect candidates of their choice.

If Republicans used the 55 percent BVAP target as a floor, the House GOP’s attorneys said Thursday, Grofman seemed to be using the same number as a ceiling by attempting to keep his redrawn districts below 55 percent black voting age population.