Following the filing of a Republican lawsuit asking the New Jersey Supreme Court to throw out the new congressional map and restart the redistricting process, the state’s top court responded on Tuesday with a modest but potentially significant request.
“A more detailed statement of reasons would assist the Court. Rule 2:5-1(b) allows a trial judge or agency head to submit “an amplification of a prior [oral] statement [or] opinion” when an appeal is taken,” explains the Court’s order. “By analogy to that rule, the Court respectfully requests that the Chairperson of the Redistricting Commission amplify the grounds for his decision and present that amplification to the parties and to the Court by January 11, 2022.”
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A full copy of the order can be viewed here.
The new map – selected by Supreme Court-appointed tiebreaker John Wallace (a former justice who wasn’t reappointed by Chris Christie) – was justified by Wallace as being equitable because the GOP map was picked ten years ago.
“Both delegations adequately applied our standards to their map,” Wallace explained before Christmas. “In the end, I decided to vote for the Democratic map simply because the last redistricting map was drawn by the Republicans.”
Wallace’s rationale (or lack thereof) led to an outcry from not just Republicans but also some headscatching from academic and members of the media.
Is today’s order a prelude to Republicans getting their wish? Or the supremes giving their former colleague a chance to salvage his reputation? Stay tuned. I thought Wallace was clear enough the first time around: he picked the Democrat map because he’s a Democrat stooge.
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