The following press release was issued today from the California Citizens Redistricting Commission addressing two lawsuits filed in opposition to the new State redistricting maps for State Senate and for Federal Congressional districts.
The Commission asked the court for the dismissal as they claimed the lawsuits did not clearly prove that any wrongdoing by the commission had been proved. Now the deadline to file another lawsuit has expired. See Below:
Citizens Redistricting Commission
California Supreme Court Strikes Down Challenges to Citizens Redistricting Commission Maps
Sacramento, CA (October 26, 2011) – The California Supreme Court has unanimously denied two lawsuits challenging the Congressional and State Senate Maps drawn and certified by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission.
“This is a great day for the people of California. The Supreme Court has struck a blow against politics as usual by upholding the fair and representative maps created by the Citizens Redistricting Commission. The Commission is gratified by the Court’s expedient work so the voters of California will have these maps in place for the upcoming 2012 elections,” said Commissioner Stan Forbes who is the current rotating Chair of the Commission.
“The California Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the citizen led process that Californians wholeheartedly embraced with the passage of Propositions 11 and 20. The petitioners’ challenges to the State Senate and Congressional maps were clearly driven by the partisan politics of the past. We are now ready to move forward,” said Kathay Feng, executive director of California Common Cause one of the major proponents of Propositions 11 and 20.
“The decision by the California Supreme Court shows that the Court appreciated the extensive and diligent work of the Commission in creating maps that provide for the fair and effective representation of all of the people of California. The Court demonstrated that deference should be given to the constitutional process created by the voters and the reasonable results of that process that are reflected in the certified maps,” said George H. Brown, partner Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, co-counsel for the Commission.
“What made this legal victory possible was the work of the Commission. For many months the Commissioners listened patiently to the people of California and balanced the Constitutional criteria which has provided California with fair districts for the next 10 years,” said Jim Brosnahan senior partner with Morrison & Foerster LLP, co-counsel for the Commission.
“This is a tremendous victory that affirms the immense amount of hard work and dedication demonstrated by this historic Commission in creating election maps that both satisfy constitutional mandates and effectively serve citizens of California. These decisions are also consistent with the high level of deference that should be shown to the Commission’s process and deliberations,” said Marcellus McRae, partner Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP Los Angeles Office, co-counsel for the Commission
The independent Commission consists of 14 members from diverse ethnic, geographic and professional backgrounds and was selected from over 30,000 applicants. The Commission held 34 public input hearings across the state hearing from over 2,700 speakers, and received over 20,000 written comments. The Commission also held 22 public line-drawing meetings which were live streamed and are now archived on the Commission’s website.
The California Citizens Redistricting Commission asked the California Supreme Court to summarily reject the only two lawsuits filed because they fail to provide any facts showing the Commission’s work was an unreasonable application of the redistricting criteria. The Commission explained that there was no basis to reconsider the Senate and Congressional districts that were carefully created in accordance with California enacted initiatives that amended the California Constitution to put citizens in charge of the redistricting process.
The Commission asserted to the Court that the two petitions filed do not properly allege any violations by the Commission. The time has expired for any additional lawsuits to be filed in the California Supreme Court.
The Commission’s full filing with the California Supreme Court, and the Court’s announcement of it’s decision, can be found at the Commission’s website at www.wedrawthelines.ca.gov.