State Supreme Court Weighs In On Redistricting Plan
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TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) - A key Florida Supreme Court justice sounded skeptical Tuesday about the Legislature's proposal for a contested South Florida district in a battle over the map for the state's congressional delegation.
Meanwhile, two congresswomen vowed to take the fight to the federal courts after their districts were largely ignored during oral arguments before the state Supreme Court, raising the prospect of more uncertainty in the nearly four-year saga about how to redraw the state's political boundaries under a voter-approved ban on political gerrymandering.
"There is no justice in this courthouse," said Democratic Congresswoman Corrine Brown in a fiery speech after the hearing. "I will be going to the federal courthouse, because there is no justice and there will be no peace. We'll go all the way to the United States Supreme Court."
The more-subdued oral arguments before the Florida Supreme Court focused on whether justices should stick with a map drawn by voting-rights groups and recommended by Leon County Circuit Judge Terry Lewis. Lewis approved the plan over separate submissions from the House and the Senate, which failed to agree on a map during a special session in August.
The Supreme Court in July struck down the current congressional districts for violating the "Fair Districts" standards approved by voters in 2010. That led to the failed special session and, ultimately, to Lewis recommending the new map to justices.
During Tuesday's hearing, which lasted less than an hour, Justice Barbara Pariente pressed a lawyer for the Legislature on how lawmakers decided to craft two South Florida districts that were struck down by the court in July.
The court's opinion faulted the Legislature's initial plan, which was approved in 2012 and tweaked in 2014, for dividing the city of Homestead between two districts in an apparent effort to help Republicans Party in one of the seats.
Pariente, who has been a leading voice in the court's redistricting opinions, noted that a new legislative proposal united the city but actually made the GOP's performance in one of the districts stronger.
"It wasn't just that Homestead was split," she said. "We found an unconstitutional intent to favor the Republican Party."
But George Meros, a lawyer for the House, argued that the legislative aides who drew the map simply looked at drafts of the map that placed Homestead in either district and chose the one that best followed the "Fair Districts" standards.
"There is no evidence in the record that these map drawers drew that configuration in order to improve Republican performance. They had no idea," Meros said.
Meanwhile, attorney Raoul Cantero --- who represents the Senate --- said the court should accept one of two maps submitted by the upper chamber. Cantero noted that one of the plans would prevent changes to a Southwest Florida district that was not cited in the justices' July opinion.
"This court did not require an entire redo of the map," said Cantero, a former Supreme Court justice. "And so, if we can keep maps the same as they were before without having to redraw them, I think that's a consideration. ... This is not a race to see who can draw the most compact map."
The League of Women Voters of Florida and Common Cause have led long-running legal battles against the state's current congressional and Senate districts. Lawmakers also could not agree last week on a new Senate redistricting plan, tossing the issue into the courts.
The News Service of Florida's Brandon Larrabee contributed to this report.