By Richard Winger On December 8, the U.S. Supreme Court put out its first full election law decision of the current term. Here is the decision in Shapiro v McManus, 14-990. It is unanimous. The case had been argued November 4.
The plaintiffs had filed a lawsuit against Maryland’s U.S. House redistricting, arguing that it represented a severe gerrymander by Democrats and was thus unconstitutional under the First Amendment. Federal law says challenges to redistricting deserve a 3-judge U.S. District Court, unless the case is wholly unsubstantial. The U.S. District Court single judge had ruled that the Shapiro case …read more