Marcia Coyle:

Right, exactly.

And when the court took the Wisconsin and the Maryland case, it sort of indicated they were willing to try again to find that test. Is it the First Amendment? Justice Alito was skeptical. He said that he felt that, under that legal theory, a legislature would never be able to redistrict.

If even the — if there was just a trifle bit of partisanship, there could be a constitutional violation. Justice Kennedy seemed a little more open to it. In fact, he said he felt that, you know, this might be the kind of case where the First Amendment does fit.

So, you came away thinking, well, you know, here we go again. They seem decided, unsure as to whether the First Amendment is the right test.