Supreme Court Says Federal Courts Have No Role in Policing Political Districts Drawn for Partisan Gain

The Supreme Court says federal courts have no role to play in policing political districts drawn for partisan gain.The decision could embolden political line-drawing for partisan gain when state lawmakers undertake the next round of redistricting after the 2020 census.The justices said, with a 5-4 vote Thursday, that claims of partisan gerrymandering do not belong in federal court.The court's conservative, Republican-appointed majority said voters and elected officials should be the arbiters of what is a political dispute.The court rejected challenges to Republican-drawn congressional districts in North Carolina and a Democratic district in Maryland.The decision, which could determine the distribution of political power for the next decade, came on the high court's final day of decisions before a long summer brak.The rules by which political districts will be redrawn following the next population count help determine how districts are drawn and where.The decision could amplify criticism of the court as a political institution, despite Chief Justice John Roberts' repeated efforts to combat that perception.  Continue reading...