Federal court allows Assembly to intervene in Wisconsin's gerrymandering case

Patrick Marley | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MADISON - A panel of federal judges allowed the state Assembly to intervene Tuesday in a long-running lawsuit over Wisconsin's election maps.

Democratic voters sued in 2015 alleging the Assembly had been unconstitutionally gerrymandered to give Republicans a big boost in elections.

The U.S. Supreme Court this summer ruled the plaintiffs didn't have legal standing to bring their case but allowed them to renew their lawsuit against elections officials.

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Last month, the Republican-controlled Assembly asked the judges hearing the case to allow it to intervene. The panel ruled Tuesday it could do so, in part because Democrat Josh Kaul defeated GOP Attorney General Brad Schimel in last week's election.

"The recent election in Wisconsin for attorney general introduces potential uncertainty into defendants’ future litigation strategy. Permitting the Assembly to intervene now would help minimize any disruption or delay in the proceedings in the event that the new Wisconsin attorney general takes a different approach to the case," the judges wrote.

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Kaul said before the election he believed the state should continue to defend the maps drawn by Republicans. But GOP lawmakers will now be able to chart their own legal strategy as well because the Assembly has been allowed to intervene.

The panel hearing the case consists of James Peterson, a district judge in Madison; William Griesbach, a district judge in Green Bay; and Kenneth Ripple, a judge on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago.

A trial is scheduled for April. The case is expected to return to the Supreme Court after that.

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Redistricting cases are unusual in that they are initially heard by a judicial panel rather than a single judge. Appeals go directly to the Supreme Court rather than an appeals court.

States have to draw new maps every 10 years based on data from the U.S. Census. Republicans in 2011 controlled all of state government and were able to draw maps to their favor.

Democrat Tony Evers won last week's gubernatorial election and will hold the governor's office when the next maps need to be approved in 2021. Republicans control the Legislature now but another round of elections will be held in 2020, just before more maps need to be drawn.

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