LAREDO, Texas -- Democrat state lawmakers told a federal appeals court panel Thursday that the Republicans in the Legislature have violated the Voting Rights Act with their push to redraw Texas' congressional districts.
The three-judge panel did not immediately make a ruling, but the judges made it clear that they were reluctant to step into a summerlong political battle that included 11 Democratic senators fleeing Texas to thwart GOP redistricting efforts. The Democrats returned from their six-week exile this week.
"We have a duty as a federal court to walk gingerly into state issues," said U.S. District Judge George Kazen. The panel could make a ruling as early as Friday afternoon.
The GOP wants to redraw political lines to increase the number of Republicans in Congress. Democrats call the redistricting a right-wing power grab and say it would hurt minority representation in Congress.
They fended off the change in the regular legislative session earlier this year, as well as two special sessions this summer. A third session is set to begin Monday.
The Democrats' attorney, Paul Smith, argued that Republicans violated the Voting Rights Act - designed to protect minority voters - when they dropped a Senate rule requiring two-thirds of the 31 members to debate a bill.
"This is a very significant piece of how the Legislature operates," Smith said of the long-standing rule.
The elimination of the rule would have allowed the GOP to take up the redistricting issue without the Democrats, but their walkout denied the Senate a quorum . Last week, Sen. John Whitmire of Houston broke ranks and returned to Austin, saying he hoped to bring both parties together to resolve the issue.
Some of the senators expressed bitterness Thursday toward Whitmire.
"We're very angry because he unilaterally made the decision to break ranks," said Sen. Judith Zaffirini of Laredo. "He literally lied to us."
The appeals panel seemed comfortable with an argument by state Solicitor General Ted Cruz, representing Republican officials, that the Democrats were in court too soon because no redistricting has taken place.
"There has been no clear action. Nothing has been done yet," Cruz said. "At this point the Legislature is arguing back and forth about what it might do."
Two weeks ago, Kazen concluded that the Democrats' arguments had enough merit to call two other judges to Laredo to help him decide the issue, as required under the Voting Rights Act.
Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, the leader of the group, said she and the other Democrats most likely will not be in the Senate on Monday. She said they plan to wait until a redistricting map is proposed before making their appearance.
You mean al Qaeda, Western Division (aka Democrats) don't like being lied to? Bwahhahahaha!
Prairie
The Texas Senate is a joke in this respect. At the beginning of each session they introduce a "blocker" bill. Other bills can't be considered before the blocker bill unless two thirds of the senate approves. This is called The Rose Bush Bill because it usually deals with groundskeeping.