Three federal judges ruled Thursday that a legal challenge to Wisconsin’s 2011 legislative redistricting will move on to the trial phase, in a case that could set a legal standard nationwide for gerrymandering.
Federal Appeals Court Judge Kenneth Ripple and Federal District Judges William Griesbach and Barbara Crabb ruled unanimously not to issue a summary judgment and ordered a trial be scheduled for next month.
“This conclusion does not require summary judgment in defendants’ favor,” the justices wrote in their decision. “To the extent that defendants have any burden to prove the legitimacy of the [redistricting] plan, this element must be resolved at trial.”
The dispute stems from a 2011 effort by Republicans to change the state’s legislative districts so that Democrats would have a harder time taking back control of the Capitol. A previous legal challenge changed two Assembly districts in suburban Milwaukee but kept the bulk of the reform in place.
The 12 Democrats who filed the suit argued that the redistricting lacked transparency and was overly unfair to their party. In their decision, the justices noted that a dearth of legal precedent exists for redistricting challenges and the Wisconsin case could set a standard for other suits across the country.
The state Department of Justice has defended the lawsuit, saying the resolution the plaintiffs have proposed is not an accurate judge of how partisan a district is. A spokesperson for the DOJ told Wisconsin Radio Network that they “are confident” the way the districts are currently drawn will withstand the legal challenge.
The justices scheduled the trial date for May 23 at the U.S. District Court of Appeals for Western Wisconsin in Madison.
