Judge blocks Nassau redistricting plan

A State Supreme Court justice in Mineola Thursday blocked the Republican-controlled Nassau legislature from adopting a new GOP redistricting plan for the 2011 elections.

Justice Steven Jaeger granted county Democrats' request for a temporary restraining order. He directed both sides to return to court May 26 to show why the process followed by Republicans in drawing the new lines was not "arbitrary and capricious and an abuse of discretion and violates the constitutional precepts governing redistricting."

Lawyers for both sides say Jaeger's order prohibits the legislature from approving the new lines; a vote is scheduled for Monday.

County Attorney John Ciampoli, a Republican who represented the 11 GOP lawmakers, called Jaeger's decision an unprecedented "judicial interference in the legislative process."

He added that Jaeger, a Democrat who disclosed at the start of Thursday's hearing that he was active in Democratic politics as a private attorney, had said "he could be fair. I looked at the decision and concluded, 'No, he couldn't,' because he's wrong."

But attorney Steven Schlesinger, who represented the eight Democratic lawmakers who sued their Republican colleagues, said, "The proposed redistricting plan was such an extraordinary violation of law that the judge was compelled to enjoin the legislature."

Nassau Democratic county legislators sued on Tuesday after legislative Presiding Officer Peter Schmitt (R-Massapequa) scheduled a final vote on the new lines. Democrats contend that when Ciampoli drew the new lines in less than 25 days after the Census was released April, he violated the long deliberative process called for by the county charter -- including the appointment of a bipartisan redistricting commission before any new map is issued.

It was unclear Thursday whether Republicans will appeal.

"We are reviewing the judge's decision," said Ed Ward, a Schmitt spokesman.

"We're talking about it with the legislature," Ciampoli said.

Democrats celebrated the decision, with county and state party chairman Jay Jacobs calling it "a major victory."

"It shows that a judge believes at least on the face of it that moving ahead would be damaging, that there is reason to believe the action is in violation of the law and in violation of the charter," Jacobs said.

Jacobs added that the order should kill the map for this year no matter what happens in court on May 26 because there won't be time for the election board to draw up new election districts before candidate nominating petitions go out June 7.

Ciampoli disagreed. "I still think it could be done," he said. "I think the Democrats are telegraphing that anything that is done legally and properly will be blocked by their operatives at the Board of Elections."