Thursday, January 12, 2006

Guerra: Both Parties Watching Redistricting Case


When Rolando Ríos finally showed up at the downtown diner Wednesday morning, José Garza, George Korbel and Luís Vera were waiting to warn him, good-naturedly, not to be late on March 1st.

In the decades the four attorneys have been fighting for minority voting rights, Vera laughs, they have shared plaintiffs' tables with Republicans and Democrats. And both parties betrayed them.

Now, they are preparing to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a lower court's affirmation of Texas' mid-decade congressional re-redistricting plan. Nationally, legal scholars are watching LULAC vs. Perry closely.

Challenges to congressional maps have not been uncommon. But until now, the complaints were about maps redrawn to equalize congressional district populations after new U.S. Census figures were released. This case is different.

Click here for the rest of Carlos Guerra's commentary.