The Supreme Court today denied an original writ petition filed two weeks ago seeking relief against the California Citizens Redistricting Commission, which is responsible for drafting Congressional, state legislative, and Board of Equalization district maps for the 2022 election. The petition — Moreno v. Citizens Redistricting Commission — wanted the Commission to stop holding allegedly private meetings, to disclose prior allegedly private meetings and communications and also “its analyses of voting districts’ racial composition and voting patterns,” and to fire its outside counsel.
In September, the court for a second time extended the Commission’s deadline to certify final maps. That deadline is just 12 days from today.
The petition claimed the Commission “is betraying its founding charter” because it “regularly communicates about redistricting matters with interested parties outside of noticed public CRC meetings, conceals from the public a voting analysis influencing map-drafting, and is counseled by . . . a law firm whose revenues derive from representing the California Legislature, as well as candidates and political action committees . . . affiliated with the Democrat [sic] party.”
The court immediately asked for a response to the petition, and the response was filed last week by the targeted law firm. The response denied the petition’s allegations and stated, the petition “is at best an untimely and unnecessary distraction as the Commission presses to finish its important work. At worst, the Petition represents a politically motivated attempt to obstruct the Commission’s efforts by denying it the advice of its chosen counsel in these final crucial days of the redistricting process.”