Chairman of Republican Party of TX Responds to SCOTUS on Re-Districting

Republican Party of Texas (RPT) Chairman Steve Munisteri issued the following statement in response to the action taken by the Supreme Court to stay the maps of the three-judge federal district court panel in San Antonio.

"The Supreme Court's action in staying the recently drawn maps issued by the three-judge federal district court panel in San Antonio, is a clear indication that the concerns we raised last week concerning the panel's actions, have merit. It has been the RPT's position that the majority of the district court panel exceeded their judicial authority and attempted to usurp the rightful duties of the Texas State Legislature. It has also been our position that the maps approved by the Legislature did comply with the Voting Rights' Act and did protect the interests of minority voters, particularly the interests of Hispanic voters in Texas. I applaud Attorney General Greg Abbott and his legal team for their quick action in appealing this matter to the U.S. Supreme Court and congratulate them for winning the first round before that court in obtaining a stay on the panel's maps. We are hopeful that the Attorney General and his team will be able to demonstrate to the Court the necessity of throwing out the panel's maps. Further, we hope the Court will either restore the original district lines of the Legislature, or at the very least, make revisions to the district court panel's maps which are more in tune with the legislative intent. We do not have information at this time as to what effect, if any, the Court's stay will have on the filing period or primary dates. As soon as we receive further instruction from the Court, we will advise the public."

Here is the order:

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2011
APPEALS – JURISDICTION NOTED
11-713 ) PERRY, GOV. OF TX, ET AL. V. PEREZ, SHANNON, ET AL.
(11A520))
)
11-714 ) PERRY, GOV. OF TX, ET AL. V. DAVIS, WENDY, ET AL.
(11A521))
)
11-715 ) PERRY, GOV. OF TX, ET AL. V. PEREZ, SHANNON, ET AL.
(11A536))
The applications for stay presented to Justice Scalia and
by him referred to the Court are granted, and it is ordered that
the orders issued by the United States District Court for the
Western District of Texas on November 23, 2011, in case Nos.
5:11-CV-360, and 5:11-CV-788, and the order of November 26, 2011,
in case No. 5:11-CV-360, are hereby stayed pending further order
of the Court. In addition, the applications for stay are treated
as jurisdictional statements, and in each case probable
jurisdiction is noted. The cases are consolidated and a total of
one hour is allotted for oral argument. The briefs of appellants
and appellees, not to exceed 15,000 words, are to be filed
simultaneously with the Clerk and served upon opposing counsel on
or before 2 p.m., Wednesday, December 21, 2011. Reply briefs,
not to exceed 15,000 words, are to be filed simultaneously with
the Clerk and served upon opposing counsel on or before 2 p.m.,
Tuesday, January 3, 2012. The cases are set for oral argument on
Monday, January 9, 2012, at 1 p.m.

So, we are bounced to January 9, 2012 for oral arguments. Our primary dates are still in limbo. The process continues.