Maybe you caught the recent news about the Wisconsin redistricting case now in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Some questions and offered answers about that case:

Why is the case at the Supreme Court?

Republicans won the governor's race in 2010 and also won majorities in the state Senate and Assembly. With that came the right and power to tweak the boundaries for our legislative and congressional districts.

They did the tweaking-which is OK. What's at issue in the case is how they did it.

Why did the Republicans make the changes in the first place?

It's about constitutions.

Our state Constitution says the legislature has to draw new district boundaries each time the U.S. authorizes a population count.

The U.S. Constitution requires a population count every ten years. This is done by the U.S. Census Bureau.

So our state legislature does its tweaking after the census numbers are in. The most recent 10-year census report was issued in March 2011, and the Republicans, along party lines, finalized their new district maps the following July.

In making these changes, is the legislature free to do whatever they want?

No. They are supposed to base all boundary changes on population, with a goal of creating districts that contain roughly equal populations.

This idea of having districts with roughly same-size populations has been referred to as the "one person, one vote" rule-a principle of political equality.

What is a "gerrymander?"

It's a term that is used when there is a claim that district boundaries have been unfairly manipulated in order to favor one party.

The term comes from an early 19th century episode in the state of Massachusetts. The governor, whose last name was Gerry, approved redrawn districts that were so weird that they took on the shape of a salamander. So the name Gerry was combined with salamander, resulting in the word "gerrymander."

In the Wisconsin case it is claimed that the districts created by the Republicans are unconstitutional gerrymanders.

Is there a "check" on the legislature's power to draw new districts?

Yes. If someone believes the new districts unfairly tip the scales in favor of one political party, a suit can be filed in order to have a court determine the constitutionality of the districts in question.

This is what is happening in Wisconsin. A group of Democrats filed suit in federal court, arguing that the 2011 district modifications were designed by the Republicans to dilute the voting strength of those who vote for Democrats.

Cases like this move slowly through the judicial system, and it wasn't until last November that a three-judge federal panel (with one dissent) ruled that the Wisconsin maps were so heavily tilted for Republicans (and thus "gerrymanders") that they unconstitutionally violated the voting rights of Democrats.

Two months later that same panel ordered Wisconsin to redraw the districts by Nov. 1, 2017.

But the State of Wisconsin appealed that decision to the U.S. Supreme Court and in the process, asked the Court to block the earlier order to redraw districts by this November. The Supreme Court granted that request.

So the maps that are in question have been in effect since the summer of 2011 and remain in effect until the Supreme Court makes its decision.

Oral arguments in the case were heard in early October, and a decision is expected sometime in 2018.

As most folks know, we have a politically-divided U.S. Supreme Court.

Predictions are that it will be close, with Justice Anthony Kennedy likely casting the swing vote. But generally, the courts are not at all anxious to get involved in redistricting cases because they are messy matters.

How has Wisconsin typically handled redistricting prior to the 2010 election?

Going back to the 1960's, neither Democrats nor Republicans controlled both houses of the legislature and the governor's office when it came time to redistrict. With divided government, there was either compromise or it was left to the courts to set district boundaries.

Aside from how the Supreme Court will decide the pending case, the next time Wisconsin will be redrawing districts will be in 2021, after the 2020 census numbers are in. So any way you look at it, the redistricting of 2011 has been a huge victory for Republicans so far.

In the column following this one, we'll review how the Republicans went about their duty to redraw districts in 2011, and explore alternative ways of going about redistricting.