Pinal legislative district at center of case
By Howard Fischer | Casa Grande Dispatch
Pinal County’s Legislative District 8 will be a focal point of the U.S. Supreme Court when it decides whether the lines for the state’s 30 legislative districts were illegally drawn.
Without comment the justices agreed Tuesday to review charges that the five-member commission violated federal law by creating legislative districts of unequal population. More to the point, challengers say that was done largely to give Democrats an unfair advantage.
Tuesday’s order sets the stage for arguments, probably not before December.
Unlike the fight decided by the high court Monday over congressional districts, this one does not challenge the authority of the commission. No one contends the panel cannot legally divide up the state into 30 legislative districts.
Instead, the issue is whether the commissioners followed the law.