{"id":357,"date":"2023-06-28T17:02:15","date_gmt":"2023-06-28T17:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/ohio\/articles\/why-it-matters-in-ohio-us-supreme-court-rejects-independent-state-legislature-theory\/"},"modified":"2023-06-28T17:02:15","modified_gmt":"2023-06-28T17:02:15","slug":"why-it-matters-in-ohio-us-supreme-court-rejects-independent-state-legislature-theory","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/ohio\/articles\/why-it-matters-in-ohio-us-supreme-court-rejects-independent-state-legislature-theory\/","title":{"rendered":"Why It Matters in Ohio – US Supreme Court Rejects Independent State Legislature Theory"},"template":"","class_list":["post-357","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry","article_type-blog-post"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"","featured_image":null,"article_type":153,"authors":null,"related_issues":[62,420],"related_work":[112],"location":null},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":false,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":false,"person":null,"name":"","role":"","phone":"","email":""},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"On Tuesday, June 28, the US Supreme Court announced its ruling on <\/span>Moore v. Harper<\/span><\/i><\/a>, <\/span><\/i>the North Carolina redistricting case. The Court <\/span>(six to three<\/span><\/i>) rejected the theory that the state court had no right to curb gerrymandering.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nTwo North Carolina state legislators argued that the North Carolina Supreme Court had no right to interfere in their mapmaking. Their legal argument was based on a fringe notion\u2013the so-called<\/span> Independent State Legislature Theory<\/b>. Those who support this theory claim that the US Constitution\u2019s Elections Clause gives state legislatures sole authority over federal elections in their state and bars courts from interfering in their decisions.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe US Supreme Court rejected the Independent State Legislature Theory and determined that the US Constitution\u2019s Elections Clause \"<\/b>does not insulate state legislatures from the ordinary exercise of state judicial review.\"<\/i><\/b>\r\n\r\nThe Court upheld the North Carolina Supreme Court\u2019s authority to rule on the constitutionality of the state\u2019s congressional map. SCOTUS did reserve for itself a role in providing oversight to ensure state courts do not \u201ctransgress the ordinary boundaries of judicial review.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\nThis is a big win for democracy! State courts have the authority to intervene in federal elections issues, including enforcing state constitutional protections.\u00a0<\/b>\r\n\r\n\u201cThis is a historic victory for the people of North Carolina and for American democracy. Today, the U.S. Supreme Court made clear that state courts and state constitutions should serve as a critical check against abuses of power by legislators,\u201d<\/span><\/i> said Bob Phillips, Common Cause North Carolina\u2019s executive director.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nWhat does this mean for Ohio?<\/b>\r\n\r\nThe Ohio Constitution includes prohibitions on gerrymandering. The prohibitions on gerrymandering congressional districts were overwhelmingly approved by Ohio voters in 2018. Last year, the Ohio Supreme Court twice determined that congressional maps were unconstitutional gerrymanders.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nRather than redraw the congressional districts and comply with the July 2021 order, legislative leaders instead referenced the Independent State Legislature Theory and appealed to the US Supreme Court arguing that the Ohio Supreme Court overstepped and didn\u2019t have the authority to tell the state legislature what to do.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nWhile <\/span>Huffman v. Nieman<\/span><\/i> has not been dismissed, yesterday\u2019s <\/span>ruling likely will lead the US Supreme Court to dismiss this appeal and a new congressional map will need to be created for Election 2024.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nMore importantly, the <\/span>Moore v. Harper <\/span><\/i>decision means that we can go into our next reform effort, establishing an independent citizens commission, with the clarity that reforms in the Ohio Constitution aren\u2019t going to be circumvented because there is no judicial review or check on state legislative power.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nChief Justice John Roberts wrote the decision. He was joined by Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor. Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Samuel Alito dissented.<\/span>\r\n\r\nFor additional discussion of the <\/span>Moore v. Harper<\/span><\/i> decision, see the following articles:<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u00a0<\/span>In blow to Ohio Republicans, U.S. Supreme Court rejects state legislators\u2019 arguments in North Carolina redistricting case - cleveland.com<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nVICTORY! U.S. Supreme Court stops power grab by NC politicians in historic Moore v. Harper ruling - Common Cause North Carolina<\/span><\/a>\r\n\r\nThe Supreme Court Declines to Dismantle Democracy | The New Yorker<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n

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