Scheduled to end today, the reapportionment trial occurring in Miami will not likely conclude until next Tuesday. The three-judge panel considering the validity of the congressional and legislative districts drawn by the Florida Legislature stood in recess for three days early this week while the judges attended an en banc panel in Atlanta.

The Miami panel is charged with the task of deciding the outcome of the newly drawn districts after citizens in hotly contested districts filed a challenge. The Florida Supreme Court handed down its opinion in April approving the constitutionality of the legislative plan, and the Department of Justice issued its pre-clearance on the Congressional plan last week. In light of these two decisions, the three-judge panel may be less likely to strike the plan down completely even if the plaintiffs are successful in their challenge.

Candidate qualifying is scheduled to end on July 26. If this panel has not made a decision by that time, the November elections will continue with plans as they were drawn in the 2002 legislative session.

Source: FloridaFriday
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