CASE SUMMARY
On June 2, 2020, a Wisconsin non-profit and state legislator filed a petition with the Wisconsin Supreme Court proposing several procedural rules to govern future redistricting challenges brought in the State's courts. Under the proposed rules: the Wisconsin Supreme Court would have original jurisdiction over challenges to congressional and legislative redistricting; redistricting challenges would be ripe to bring at any point after the apportionment counts have been delivered to the President and Congress; actions could be stayed until the Legislature enacts an original plan; the Governor, Senate, and Assembly would be granted intervention as of right in these cases; and certain procedures would be modified such as the collection and submission of evidence, the court's ability to dispose of the action, and the establishment of timelines and public input mechanisms for the adoption of any remedial redistricting plans.
- On May 14, 2021, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued an opinion rejecting the proposed rules, stating that the procedures proposed would be unlikely to materially aid in the Court's consideration of an as yet undefined future redistricting challenge. It also noted that it remains "well-settled" that redistricting challenges often merit the Court's exercise of its original jurisdiction.
CASE LIBRARY
Wisconsin Supreme Court - No. 20-03