Supreme Court Signs Off On Congressional Districts
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MIAMI (CBSMiami/NSF) -- The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a lower court's ruling about the state's congressional districts, ending at least one phase of a nearly four-year legal battle over the map.
The ruling means a set of districts in South Florida crafted by a coalition of voting-rights groups will be used in the map over the next three elections.
In October, a Leon County judge recommended that the Florida Supreme Court adopt congressional districts proposed by the coalition.
The decision by Circuit Judge Terry Lewis was a blow to House and Senate leaders who argued for other maps of the state's 27 congressional seats in a three-day hearing last month.
Lewis recommended a plan to the Supreme Court after the House and Senate failed to agree on a new map during an August special session.
In July, the Supreme Court threw out the current congressional districts, adopted by the Legislature in 2012 and tweaked in 2014, after finding that they violated the voter-approved "Fair Districts" redistricting standards, which prohibit political gerrymandering.
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.