By Aaron C. Davis, Washington Post A group of African Americans seeking to overturn Maryland’s congressional map on grounds that Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) and the state legislature racially gerrymandered lines to help elect Democrats won an initial victory in court Monday. U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus rebuffed an argument to dismiss the case…
By Glynis Kazanjian, Maryland Reporter The federal judge overseeing the first round of legal arguments on the lawsuit challenging Maryland’s congressional redistricting quickly ruled Monday against the state’s motion to dismiss and assigned the case to a three-judge panel. U.S. District Court Judge Roger W. Titus of Greenbelt ruled that he disagreed with the state’s…
By Annie Linskey, The Baltimore Sun An Iowa-based foundation is financing a federal lawsuit that seeks to overturn Maryland’s new congressional map on the grounds that it unconstitutionally splits minority communities. Christopher Rants, a Republican former speaker of the Iowa House who heads the Legacy Foundation, confirmed that the group is paying for the legal…
Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is calling Maryland’s recent congressional redistricting “outrageously unconstitutional,” and says that his inability to persuade the other justices to overturn partisan gerrymandering like it was “one of my major disappointments in my entire career.” Stevens, 91, who retired last year after almost 35 years on the court, said…