High court questions courts' role in partisan redistricting

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court's conservative majority sounded wary Tuesday of allowing federal judges to determine when electoral maps are too partisan, despite strong evidence the political parties drew districts to guarantee congressional election outcomes.

The decisions in two cases the justices heard Tuesday, from Maryland and North Carolina, could help shape the makeup of Congress and state legislatures for the next decade in the new districts created following the 2020 census.

In more than two hours of arguments over Republican-drawn congressional districts in North Carolina and a single congressional district drawn to benefit Democrats in Maryland, the justices on the right side of the court asked repeatedly whether unelected judges should police the partisan actions of elected officials.

"Why should we wade into this?" Justice Neil Gorusch asked.

Gorsuch and Justice Brett Kavanaugh pointed out voters in some states and state courts in others are imposing limits on how far politicians can go in designing districts maximizing one party's advantage.

Gorsuch said the court's 2015 ruling upholding Arizona voters' decision to take redistricting away from the legislature and create an independent commission shows there are other ways to handle the issue. That case was decided by a 5-4 vote before Gorsuch joined the court, with four conservatives in dissent.

In light of activity at the state level, Kavanaugh asked, "Have we really reached the moment, even though it would be a big lift for this court to get involved, where the other actors can't do it?"

Chief Justice John Roberts, who last year worried about the harm to the court's reputation if it had to pick political winners in endless redistricting disputes, suggested voters have a way of surprising people.

"Even ... in the more recent cycle, I understand that a lot of things that were never supposed to happen happened," Roberts said.

But there was no certainty the justices would, in the end, shut courthouse doors to claims over excessive partisan gerrymandering, as the practice of designing districts for political gain is known.

Kavanaugh, in particular, said he would not dispute "extreme partisan gerrymandering is a real problem for our democracy."

Maryland residents Roberts and Kavanaugh also seemed troubled by majority Democrats' efforts to flip a western Maryland seat held by a Republican for 20 years to Democratic control. "I mean, it does seem that this is a situation where the state is taking retaliatory action against Republicans who were in that district," Roberts said.

The cases at the high court mark the second time in consecutive terms the justices are trying to determine whether they can set limits on partisan map-making.

The court also could rule federal judges should not oversee disputes over districts designed to benefit one political party.

Last year, the court essentially punted on cases from Wisconsin and the same Maryland congressional district before the court Tuesday.