The Supreme Court on Friday added ten minutes to the oral argument time for the January 9 hearing on the Texas redistricting cases, allotting the extra time to the U.S. Solicitor General’s office. The SG is arguing against the request by the state of Texas to allow the temporary use in the 2012 elections of redistricting maps fashioned by the state legislature. The SG also is contending that two of those maps — for the state house seats and for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives — violate federal voting rights law. The Court’s new argument order is here. The revised January calendar is here.
The argument will now extend to 70 minutes, with 30 minutes for Texas, 30 minutes for the challengers to the legislature’s maps, and ten for the SG. The Court turned down a request to provide time to challengers of the Texas plan for state senate seats. The SG does not oppose that particular map, but others, mainly advocacy groups for minority voters, do.
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