Court Orders Gerrymandering North Carolina Legislators to Comply with Stay Conditions Requested by Challengers
- David Vance c: (202) 736-5712 dvance@commoncause.org
- Bryan Warner (919) 836-0027 c: (919) 836-0027 bwarner@commoncause.org
Media Contacts
A three-judge federal district court panel in North Carolina today issued its stay order in the partisan gerrymandering case Common Cause v. Rucho, ordering attorneys for the North Carolina Legislators who drew the maps to comply with the conditions requested by the Common Cause plaintiffs. Those conditions require the defendants to file their Jurisdictional Statement with the Supreme Court by October 1, 2018, and to seek no requests for extension of time while their appeal is pending before the Supreme Court.
Statements of Common Cause
“This is yet another great sign for our challenge to this blatantly partisan gerrymander getting its day before the U.S. Supreme Court. We believe we have the strongest partisan gerrymandering lawsuit in the country and that we will ultimately prevail with the highest court in the land.”
- Bob Phillips, executive director of Common Cause North Carolina
“We are glad to see the court accept the conditions we requested in our filings, which will allow the case to be heard by the Supreme Court sooner. Although the legislature’s delays and decision to replace one unconstitutional map with another one made holding an election under fairs maps impossible this year, we are confident that this case will ultimately bring justice to the voters of North Carolina.”
- Dan Vicuna, Common Cause national redistricting manager
Common Cause v. Rucho was consolidated with League of Women Voters v. Rucho at the trial court stage.
Common Cause was joined in the litigation by the North Carolina Democratic Party and voters in each of the 13 gerrymandered districts. Plaintiffs are represented by Emmet J. Bondurant, Jason J. Carter, and Benjamin W. Thorpe of Bondurant, Mixson & Elmore, LLP, Gregory L. Diskant, Jonah M. Knobler, Peter A. Nelson and Elena Steiger Reich of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, and Edwin M. Speas, Jr., Caroline P. Mackie and Steve Epstein of Poyner Spruill LLP.
To read the stay order, click here.