Michael McDonald asks several interesting, but premature, questions about redistricting in the event the Supreme Court finds '03 Census data to be invalid.  As someone who has had four "tours of duty" with the Census Bureau and also has litigated two pro se redistricting suits I feel compelled to reply.

No litigation over 2013 population estimates versus 2010 Census data should be contemplated prior to the conduct of the 2010 Census.  Too many legislative opportunites to correct the conflict of law, suggested in McDonald's question, exist and I would be incredulous if a court agreed to hear such a far-off matter. 

A principle I hope the Court adopts is that no "mid-decade" reapportionments without an official Cenus recount.  If the map is so out of kilter that the representation in Congress needs to be adjusted then the population-based federal funds that flow to communities would also be need to be adjusted justifying a Census recount.

The Census procedures, despite criticism in some urban areas, are the still the best effort made count the population.  Decade-long reliance on the data is more reasonable than population estimates or arbitrary adjustments.

The gerrymandering is bad enough already without changing the awful maps everytime party control of a state legislature changes.

-Michael Richardson