Texas redistricting trial begins

WASHINGTON -- Texas' redistricting plans went on trial in yet another courtroom Tuesday as a three-judge federal panel began hearing testimony to determine whether the Legislature drew the maps for state House, state Senate and congressional districts in line with the Voting Rights Act.

The state began presenting its case Tuesday, saying the Legislature had no "intent" to discriminate. The three-judge panel refused late last year to approve the state's maps under summary judgment, leading to the trial.

Tuesday, state Rep. Marc Veasey and state Sen. Wendy Davis, both Democrats, are expected to testify for the groups siding with the Justice Department in opposing the maps. Final arguments are expected Feb. 3.

The trial has taken on added importance after the Supreme Court heard arguments Jan. 9 on a related Texas redistricting case that focuses on the 2012 elections. Several justices signaled that they wanted to know the decision on "pre-clearance" of the Legislature's maps under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act before ruling on whether to allow interim maps for the 2012 elections that were drawn by another three-judge panel in San Antonio.

The legal wrangling over Texas redistricting already has delayed the state's primaries from March 6 to April 3, and they could be pushed back even more.

Texas' lead attorney, Adam Mortara, the outside counsel from a Chicago law firm, argued that the plan put forth by the Legislature "does not increase discrimination." Among the witnesses Tuesday were GOP state Rep. Todd Hunter, who was a leader in the redistricting process, and Gerardo Interiano, a top aide to Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, a Republican, who worked on redistricting.

"We wanted to have a legal map," Interiano testified. "The goal was to produce a map that could hold up to legal scrutiny." Tarrant County figures prominently in the case. The groups that oppose the plan, including the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, argue that the state's maps divide the county's Latinoc and black communities in the Texas Senate and congressional districts.

From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Visit the Fort Worth Star-Telegram at www.star-telegram.com. Distributed by MCT Information Services.