The state Department of Justice is arguing a court decision that struck down Wisconsin’s legislative district maps should be overturned.
A federal court ruled last fall that the maps drawn in 2010 amounted to an unconstitutional gerrymander, because they were drawn in a way designed to minimize Democratic votes.
In court documents filed Friday in an appeal of the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, the DOJ contends the basis of the lawsuit is unlike anything ever adopted by the nation’s high court. “Wisconsin’s redistricting plan is so reasonable that it would pass muster under any legal test ever proposed by any Justice of the Supreme Court,” Attorney General Brad Schimel said in a statement.
The court has ordered lawmakers to draw new maps by this November, which would be used in legislative elections the following year. If the Supreme Court agrees to review the case, the DOJ believes it would hear arguments during the October 2017 term.