DOJ latest brief in San Antonio case is interesting

[Gothmog]

Last edited Mon Feb 13, 2012, 10:26 PM - Edit history (1)

There is a status hearing on Tuesday that may continue until Feb. 15. The DOJ latest brief indicates that its thinks that a great deal of work needs to be done and that there is good evidence of actual intent to discriminate

http://txredistricting.org/post/17405847549/doj-sets-forth-position-on-defects-in-maps-says-san

In a brief filed this evening, the Justice Department told the San Antonio court that any interim map needed to have at least 50 minority ability-to-elect state house districts and 11 ability-to-elect congressional districts.

In addition, DOJ told the court that evidence in the D.C. trial included substantial evidence of purposeful discriminatory intent in the state’s treatment of CD-9, CD-18, CD-23, and CD-30 as well as the state’s treatment of compact minority communities in the DFW Metroplex:

Instead of allowing a minority controlled congressional district to emerge naturally within the compact minority communities in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, the map-drawers intentionally divvied up urban, low-income minority populations among four Anglo-controlled Congressional districts with bizarre shapes -CD-6, CD-12, CD-26, and CD-33. Cracking of the minority population … is further evidence of discriminatory intent.

On the state house map, DOJ likewise said there was “substantial” evidence of discriminatory purpose in the state’s treatment of HD 41, HD 117, and in “districts within Harris County.”

DOJ also told the court that it did not have authority to waive the requirement that counties obtain preclearance for new precinct boundaries, explaining that the current situation did not meet the definition of an emergency under applicable regulations and that counties had the option of requesting expedited DOJ review. DOJ said that even if the court ordered an April primary “there is still enough time for [county] jurisdictions to submit their voting changes for preclearance.”

The reminder about the new maps needing to being subject to pre-clearance tells me that there is not likely to be a settlement that will be satisfactory to the DOJ on Tuesday.

[sonias]

1. "substantial evidence of purposeful discriminatory intent"

Do we need to say anymore? The defendants (State of Texas and the republican map makers) are guilty as charged!

Throw their maps out!