Court seems to favor GOP redistricting arguments

Paper: Fort Worth Star-Telegram (TX)

Date: March 2, 2006

WASHINGTON — In an often lively session Wednesday, the Supreme Court considered the merits of the 2003 Texas congressional redistricting, questioning the shape and composition of a few districts created to give Republicans an electoral advantage and appearing to largely reject Democrats' arguments that Republicans made an illegal power grab.

The redistricting map, drawn at the insistence of then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, has a colorful history, including repeated court hearings and two flights by state Democratic lawmakers across state lines.

And in the 2004 elections, the new districts gave House Republicans five additional seats, as well as a party-switcher.

The dispute will end in late June when the Supreme Court announces its decision.

Although both sides expressed confidence in victory after the argument, the justices seemed to pepper Paul Smith, the attorney for Democratic lawmakers, with more pointed questions than they did Ted Cruz, the Texas solicitor general, who defended the map.

The court decision has substantial consequences for Texas lawmakers, many of whom were in court Wednesday. More than half of Texas' 32-member House delegation was present, including Reps. Michael Burgess, R-Flower Mound, Kenny Marchant, R-Coppell, Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas and John Carter, R-Round Rock.

The delegation has 21 Republicans and 11 Democrats.

Smith argued that the map should not have been redrawn after a court-imposed map was approved for the 2002 election. The only reason the map was redrawn was "for one party to have an advantage over another," Smith said.

"That's a surprise," Justice Antonin Scalia said dryly. "Legislatures redraw the map all the time for political purposes."

Cruz made the point that the 1991 map was drawn by Democrats who made it favorable to their party — a design he contended stayed in place until the 2003 DeLay-led effort.

And justices did not seem swayed by the argument that dividing District 24, formerly held by Rep. Martin Frost, D-Dallas, had damaged the voting strength of the African-American community in southeast Fort Worth and thus violated the Voting Rights Act, which protects minority voters in 13 Southern states.

Chief Justice John Roberts questioned whether the size of the African-American vote — 26 percent, according to Smith — was the determining factor in who was elected from the district.

Most of the questions focused on the shape and composition of districts in South Texas — the 23rd District, held by Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-San Antonio, and the 25th, held by Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin.

Doggett's district, which stretches from the border to the outskirts of Austin, was designed as a Hispanic district.

But its shape troubled some — Justice Stephen Breyer called it a "long walking stick" — for what appeared to be a lack of community cohesion.

But Gerry Hebert, lead attorney for the Democratic lawmakers, said afterward that he was not troubled by the questioning.

"These are novel constitutional issues that have never been before the court," Hebert said. And Smith conceded that the court could decide to focus on a few districts instead of throwing out the 2004 map in favor of the 2002 map.

Texas House Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, who attended the arguments, was upbeat. "I'm encouraged," he said. "The court has taken the protection of the Voting Rights Act very seriously."

But Carter, a former state judge, thought that the GOP had a winning day in court. "I don't think the judges were buying any of the arguments" made by Smith, Carter said.

"Worst-case scenario," Carter said, "is they tweak some of the districts in the Valley."

Carter said that Frost's old district could not be seen as a minority influence district.

"No minority has ever won that district," he said.

"Frost's not black or Hispanic; he's Jewish. And we're not protecting the Jewish minority here.

"It doesn't fit that Martin Frost is the only candidate that can represent blacks or Hispanics."

Frost did not attend the arguments but said Tuesday that he was the candidate of choice among blacks and that they would have chosen an African-American after his retirement.

Instead, Frost was defeated in 2004 by Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Dallas. Southeast Fort Worth is in Burgess' 26th District, which includes Denton County and reaches north to Oklahoma.

Bonilla's district was questioned in court by Nina Perales, the southwestern regional counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, for the Legislature's 2003 transfer of 100,000 Latinos to another district.

"This case is about the fundamental right to vote for all Americans," said Perales, who added that the Latinos were less likely to vote for Bonilla, a Hispanic Republican.

DeLay did not attend the arguments.

"He's really not involved in any aspect of the litigation," a spokesman said.

DeLay is under indictment on a related election matter, accused of laundering money in the 2002 Texas House races.

Democrats have not given up hope that the 2002 map would be restored, which would give them a shot at as many as four additional seats.

"This issue is not about one individual, one member of Congress or one state representative," said Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, D-Mercedes.

"It's about providing Texans, and, at the end of the day, all Americans, with the representation they deserve and are entitled to by the Constitution."

Maria Recio (202) 383-6103 mrecio@krwashington.com

Author: MARIA RECIO

Section: News

Page: A9