A lawsuit challenging North Carolina's legislative districts for having excessively political boundaries is going to trial, just days after the U.S. Supreme Court declared it has no authority to rule on partisan gerrymandering claims.
What's different about the case in Raleigh is that it's getting heard in state court, and the claims are based on alleged violations of the North Carolina Constitution, not the U.S. Constitution.
The Supreme Court's majority opinion last week involving North Carolina's congressional map focused only on federal courts.
The state lawsuit challenging state House and Senate districts is scheduled to go to trial July 15.
A big issue during Tuesday's pretrial hearing will be whether a Republican consultant's private files will be allowed as evidence.
Copyright 2019 North Carolina Public Radio
