A federal district court judge in Miami on Friday rejected a lawsuit filed by two members of Congress and the Florida House of Representatives, upholding the “Fair Districts” constitutional amendment governing the redrawing of congressional maps.
Judge Ursula Ungaro, who repeatedly questioned attorneys for U.S. Representatives Corrine Brown, (D-FL) and Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), said she had already prepared an order ruling in favor of the amendments and heard nothing in oral arguments that changed her mind.
The amendment, which is aimed at cutting back on politically gerrymandered districts, was overwhelmingly approved by voters in last year’s elections, as was another dealint with legislative districts.
Reacting to today’s ruling, Representative Scott Randolph (D-Orlando) said, he was “pleased that the court upheld the wishes of 63 percent of Florida voters.”
“Speaker Cannon and the other plaintiffs in this case have cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars to pursue this frivolous lawsuit,” Randolph said in a statement. “Because the state has also been defending this case, I urge Secretary Browning to ask the court to require the plaintiffs in this case to pay attorney fees pursuant to Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, as well as other penalties to the attorneys for filing and pursing such a frivolous case.”
Attorneys for Brown and Diaz-Balart argues it was an unconstitutional infringement on the Legislature’s rights under the U.S. Constitution to draw the lines.
Former state Sen. Dan Gelber, general counsel for the advocacy group Fair Districts Now, said lawmakers should move forward with drawing the lines.
“It’s sad that Floridians had to hire an army of lawyers to protect themselves from their own elected officials,” Gelber said.
Brown and Diaz-Balart, who also fear the standards could hurt minority representation, promised to appeal.
“It’s just step one, and we’re going on all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary,” Brown said.
