For Dems, courts mightier than pen

[proud2BlibKansan]

Democrats, shut out of power in state capitols across the country after a disastrous midterm election, are taking the redistricting war to the courtroom — and they’re on a winning streak.

Democrats have benefited from several high-stakes redistricting decisions in recent weeks, positioning the party to capture a handful of congressional seats and raising the prospect that the maps for several key battleground states will favor the party for the next decade.

In Colorado, a district court earlier this month ruled in favor of implementing a Democrat-drafted congressional map after state legislators were unable to agree on a redistricting bill, putting into law a plan that imperils two GOP-held seats. Republicans have appealed the ruling to the state Supreme Court, which will hear arguments on Dec. 1.

Also this month, a three-judge federal panel halted the GOP-led Texas redistricting plan, which positioned Republicans to capture three of the state’s four new House seats, until a Washington, D.C., court determines whether the map adequately accommodates the state’s Hispanic population. A federal court in San Antonio will craft interim lines for the 2012 election, taking the line-drawing power temporarily out of Republican hands.



Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/68855.html#ixzz1ePSiXUta

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