Szeliga v. Lamone — Redistricting (MD)
MARYLAND CIRCUIT COURT FOR ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY & MARYLAND COURT OF APPEALS
In This Resource
On March 14, 2022, the Maryland Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County and the Maryland Court of Appeals each accepted a motion by former Governors Michael F. Easley of North Carolina, Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, William F. Weld of Massachusetts, and Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey to file an amicus brief in support of Republican members of the House of Delegates and Republican voters in the cases Szeliga v. Lamone & In the Matter of the 2022 Districting of the State of Maryland. The States United Democracy Center and Jonathan L. Williams, P.A. served as pro-bono counsel on the brief.
In Szeliga v. Lamone, a case filed by two Republican House of Delegates members and seven Republican voters in Maryland, the plaintiffs allege that the congressional map passed by the state legislature disregards county lines and political boundaries, “cracking” and “packing” Republican voters into districts that dilute Republican votes. In In the Matter of the 2022 Districting of the State of Maryland, Republican members of the House of Delegates and Republican voters are advancing similar claims.
In the amicus brief, the former governors explained that extreme partisan gerrymandering—manipulated by precise, modern technologies and data—violates three articles of the Declaration of Rights in the Maryland Constitution, is inconsistent with democratic values, and undermines good governance.
Beginning March 15, the Maryland Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County held a hearing on the plaintiffs’ claims in Szeliga v. Lamone.
On March 23, the Court of Appeals of Maryland will hold a hearing on In the Matter of the 2022 Districting of the State of Maryland.
At the time of the filing of the amicus brief, the cases were under review in the Maryland Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County and the Maryland Court of Appeals.