WASHINGTON - Attorneys for the Justice Department and state of Texas began wrapping up their cases Tuesday in a trial over whether new electoral maps crafted by Texas' Republican-dominated Legislature violate the Voting Rights Act.
A three-judge panel of the federal court in Washington , one of two courts where the redistricting battle is being fought , listened to closing arguments after two weeks of testimony. The court must decide whether Texas' new legislative and congressional districts violate a section of the federal statute that requires nine mostly southern states with a history of racial discrimination, including Texas, to get so-called "pre-clearance" from the Justice Department.
The Justice Department has argued , along with a coalition of minority groups , that Texas lawmakers recut several districts in a way that was designed to dilute minority voting power. The state maintains that lawmakers cut districts to solidify and improve Republican chances, which is legal, not with the intent to suppress minority voters.
The Justice Department and the state were given an hour each to make closing arguments Tuesday. Each of the minority groups was given 15 minutes to address the court.
The trial in Washington has continued even as attention from all sides has shifted to a federal court in San Antonio. After the U.S. Supreme Court rejected interim maps the court initially drew, it asked the San Antonio court to redraw maps with more deference to the map originally drawn by the Texas Legislature.
The San Antonio court has given Texas and nine groups suing to block the legislative-drawn maps until Feb. 6 to agree on temporary districts that will remain in place through November's election, or see the state's April 3 primaries delayed. But on Monday, an attorney for one of the minority groups said the settlement talks had stalled, putting the primary date in jeopardy.
In both proceedings, there's a lot on the line.
Texas will add four seats to its congressional delegation in 2012 because of adjustments made with 2010 census data. Both Democrats and Republicans believe the state will be an important factor in the battle for control of the U.S. House. Adjustments in Texas House and Senate maps could also affect the balance of power in the Legislature, though Republicans will almost certainly maintain control of both.
Judges have heard hours of testimony from Texas lawmakers, members of Congress, Texas House and Senate staff and redistricting experts. In addition, the judges will consider thousands of pages of pre-filed evidence from the two sides.
The presiding judge in the Washington case, Rosemary Collyer, moved up closing arguments to Tuesday so both parties could turn their attention to the San Antonio court. A series of filings from both sides will be due shortly after.
