Thursday, October 13, 2011
Two challenges filed with Hawaii Supreme Court against redistricting plan
by Larry Geller
Two challenges have been filed with the Hawaii Supreme Court against the September 26, 2011 redistricting plan developed by the Hawaii Redistricting Commission under Judge Victoria Marks, Chair. The first suit was filed by Big Island attorney Stanley Roehrig and the second by Kailua-Kona resident Michael J. Matsukawa (pro se).
The plan released by the Commission and set to complete a series of public hearings includes most non-resident military and out-of-state college students with the result that the Big Island did not gain the representation of one state senate seat it would have been assigned had the non-residents not been included in the count.
For more details on the controversy, see Big Island Democrats Challenge Redistricting Plan in Supreme Court (Civil Beat, 10/19/2011).
Redistricting is an extremely difficult and tedious process. This is reflected in the language of these lawsuits. In a sense, they are much more complicated than civil or criminal cases where witnesses testify or are deposed and facts are tried. They are accordingly more difficult to read. The documents in state court cases are also more difficult to obtain than federal documents. So if you have a need for them, here they are. For the record…
Download Petition for Judicial Review Declaratory Judgment and Orders
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