State's top court hears challenge to congressional redistricting maps

ALBANY — Judges on New York’s top court wrangled Tuesday over whether authority can be taken away from the State Legislature for drawing the state’s congressional districts.

The Court of Appeals, in one of its biggest cases in recent memory, heard arguments in a lawsuit claiming the Democratic-dominated State Legislature illegally gerrymandered the state’s congressional districts.

Republican litigants argued that not only are the maps gerrymandered, but also the Legislature didn’t follow the constitutional process when it rejected maps drawn by redistricting commission.

The panel, known as the Independent Redistricting Commission, produced one set of maps, which was rejected. But it never voted on a second set of maps to offer the Legislature, which Republican attorneys contend was a fatal flaw in the process.

But some members of the seven-judge panel questioned that argument. They suggested the Legislature might have been within its authority to take over mapmaking when the IRC never could settle on a set of maps.

“The constitution doesn’t mandate the IRC plan or plans be adopted,” Judge Jenny Rivera said. “It is always the Legislature’s province to reject or approve the plan. And if they don’t, then they can pass their own. Again, I’m having difficulty with your argument that you’re driving the substantive work of drawing district lines into a judicial forum when it’s very clear the Legislature doesn’t have to adopt when what the IRC proposes.”

Republican attorneys are seeking to either force the Legislature to redraw the maps or have a court-appointed master take over.

 "The Legislature had no authority to adopt any maps," argued Misha Tseytlin, attorney for the Republican litigants.

Along with the violation of process argument, Republicans are claiming the new congressional districts were drawn with the intent of benefiting Democrats.

Judge Anthony Cannataro boiled down the point when he said: “The question is whether the Legislature acted with partisan intent or not.”

 "What we're looking at is motive,"  said Judge Michael Garcia — the lone Republican on the seven-member bench — at another point.

The Court of Appeals decision on the lawsuit will have implications well beyond New York as Democrats and Republicans vie for control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Two lower courts have ruled the maps, approved earlier this year by the Legislature and Gov. Kathy Hochul, were drawn to give Democrats an unfair advantage. Drawing new maps is a part of the once-a-decade process of redistricting based on the latest U.S. Census.

The new maps shifted the number of Democrat-leaning congressional districts in New York from 19 to 22 and decreased Republican ones from eight to four, analysts have said. New York is losing one congressional seat this year, going from 27 to 26.

Attorneys for the state Senate, Assembly and Hochul said that the Legislature always had the power to take over the redistricting process from the commission and that the Democrats' hypothetical gain in seats is attributable not to gerrymandering but the fact that upstate, Republican areas declined in population in comparison to downstate, Democratic-dominated areas. 

They also contended the Democratic-drawn map brought together "communities of interest" in some areas. For example, they said the maps reunite Chinese American communities in the 11th district, communities that had been split in the past, weakening their political power.  

They also said lower courts concluded there was gerrymandering based on cursory and insufficient evidence.

"This would be the first time a court struck down a redistricting process without a district-by-district analysis of what's wrong," said Eric Hecker, attorney for the state Senate.

If Republicans win the lawsuit, the state’s primary could be shifted from June 28 to August to give the Legislature a short window to redraw the maps and time for candidates to qualify for the ballot.

By Yancey Roy

yancey.roy@newsday.com@yanceyroy