The North Carolina Supreme Court sided with Republican lawmakers in a dispute over the state’s congressional map, nixing a court-drawn map as it overruled a previous court ruling.
The previous ruling said the state GOP lawmakers had gerrymandered their map of congressional and legislative districts.
After Republicans took control of the state’s highest court, however, the new GOP-majority bench reheard the dispute in a rare move. Then it issued a decision saying courts should stay out of the political process.
“The courts are not designed to be thrust into the midst of various political disputes. Such engagement in policy issues forces courts to take sides in political battles and undermines public trust and confidence in the judiciary. Choosing political winners and losers creates a perception that courts are another political branch,” wrote North Carolina Chief Justice Paul Newby.
“We are designed to be a government of the people, not of the judges. At its heart, this case is about recognizing the proper limits of judicial power,” he added.
North Carolina Justice Anita Earls dissented, arguing that the majority opinion manipulated principles of democracy.
The rare rehearing from the state’s high court came after the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in December on the same case. Legal experts say there’s a lot of uncertainty about the outcome of one of the thorniest issues before the federal justices this term, given the court could dismiss the case after the new rehearing and ruling.
At issue was the legislative district map drawn by the Republican-led Legislature and state court rulings blocking the map’s use.
The Legislature told the high court that under the terms of the Constitution’s elections clause, it — not state courts — should have the final say over election changes.
• Stephen Dinan contributed to this report.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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