© 2024 Blue Ridge Public Radio
Blue Ridge Mountains banner background
Your source for information and inspiration in Western North Carolina.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Today is the last day of our Spring Fund Drive — donate now to support BPR.

Federal Judges Deny Lawmakers' Request For Stay In Gerrymandering Case

NC congressional map approved by lawmakers in 2016 and found to be a partisan gerrymander by a three-judge panel Tuesday.
NC General Assembly
NC congressional map approved by lawmakers in 2016 and found to be a partisan gerrymander by a three-judge panel Tuesday.

NC congressional map approved by lawmakers in 2016 and found to be a partisan gerrymander by a three-judge panel Tuesday.
NC General Assembly
NC congressional map approved by lawmakers in 2016 and found to be a partisan gerrymander by a three-judge panel Tuesday.

A panel of federal judges has denied a request from Republican lawmakers to delay redrawing all of North Carolina's 13 congressional districts.

The judges who denied this request for a stay are the same three judges which unanimously ruled all of North Carolina's congressional districts are illegal partisan gerrymanders.

They have also given lawmakers until January 24 to redraw the districts. That deadline is what this stay had sought to delay.

Saying lawmakers had failed to meet the "heavy burden" required to stay the order, the panel was blunt in their response, but not brief. The original motion from lawmakers was comprised of seven pages. The judge's denial was 21 pages long.

Republican leaders said they will take their appeal and request for a stay to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The judges here said basically have fun with that. And, after citing the significant differences in the North Carolina case and two others already before the U.S. Supreme Court, the denial stated that these make "it all the more likely that the Supreme Court will affirm this Court’s judgment, regardless of what standard the Supreme Court adopts."

Copyright 2018 WFAE

Tom Bullock decided to trade the khaki clad masses and traffic of Washington DC for Charlotte in 2014. Before joining WFAE, Tom spent 15 years working for NPR. Over that time he served as everything from an intern to senior producer of NPR’s Election Unit. Tom also spent five years as the senior producer of NPR’s Foreign Desk where he produced and reported from Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Haiti, Egypt, Libya, Lebanon among others. Tom is looking forward to finally convincing his young daughter, Charlotte, that her new hometown was not, in fact, named after her.
Related Content