[EL] Florida, redistricting, and state constitutions

[Schultz, David A.]

Dear All:

The Florida decision today striking down part of the state's  redistricting
 plan is not an entire surprise, at least for those of us who teach state
constitutional law.

About a decade ago I did a couple of pieces on  state courts and partisan
gerrymandering.  The cites are below.  Too often in general we think all
the action is in the federal courts but for those of us who teach state con
law we know that state courts are increasingly using their own
constitutions to address issues that the federal courts do not.  Just last
week or so the Oklahoma Supreme Court issued a pairs of decisions to prove
that.  My point is that there is a vastly neglected field of election law
that fails to look at state constitutional arguments when it comes to
issues such as voting rights, gerrymandering, etc.  The Florida case is a
message for us not to neglect these cases.

The Party’s Over:  Partisan  Gerrymandering and the First Amendment, 36
Capital Law Review 1 (2007).

Redistricting and the New Judicial Federalism: Reapportionment Litigation
Under State Constitutions, 37 Rutgers L. J. 1087 (2006).
-- 
David Schultz, Professor
Editor, Journal of Public Affairs Education (JPAE)
Hamline University
Department of Political Science
1536 Hewitt Ave
MS B 1805
St. Paul, Minnesota 55104
651.523.2858 (voice)
651.523.3170 (fax)
http://davidschultz.efoliomn.com/
http://works.bepress.com/david_schultz/
http://schultzstake.blogspot.com/
Twitter:  @ProfDSchultz
My latest book:  Election Law and Democratic Theory, Ashgate Publishing
http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9780754675433
FacultyRow SuperProfessor, 2012, 2013, 2014
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