Supreme Court Sends Redistricting Case Back To Lower Court

The Supreme Court decided on Monday to sidestep two major cases involving partisan gerrymandering in Wisconsin and Maryland, allowing the states’ electoral maps to stand for now.

In their ruling, the justices unanimously decided against Wisconsin Democrats challenging legislative districts that gave Republicans a large advantage in state legislature, saying on Twitter that the case was dismissed “for lack of standing.” In an unsigned opinion, the court also did not side with Maryland Republicans contesting a single congressional district, which the court also tweeted about.

Supreme Court dismisses Wisconsin partisan gerrymandering case for lack of standing

— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 18, 2018

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In Maryland partisan gerrymandering case, Supreme Court holds that district court did not abuse its discretion in denying preliminary injunction in this case, without deciding any questions on the merits

— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 18, 2018

As the court sidestepped definitive rulings on both cases, it did not address the broader issue of gerrymandering can give unfair political advantage. It may soon decide to take up a similar case from North Carolina, according to PBS.

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Proceedings for both the Wisconsin and Maryland cases will continue in lower courts. The Wisconsin Democrats will have a chance to prove their claim that the partisan gerrymandering has gone too far district by district. The Maryland case was in its preliminary stages and will now have a trial.

The full opinions for each case can be found in the links below.

Wisconsin

Maryland