Note: This is a corrected post from an erroneous post stating that the Court did not decide the case today. Thanks to a reader for passing the correction along.
The Court denied cert. today in the Colorado redistricting case over three dissents. See here. Chief Justice Rehnquist, along with Justices Thomas and Scalia, dissented. The issue here is parallel to the issue raised in the Bush v. Gore concurrence regarding the power of state legislatures over courts to decide rules for the election of federal officials.
Here is a snippet from the dissent:
- Generally the separation of powers among branches of a State’s government raises no federal constitutional questions, subject to the requirement that the government be republican in character. But the words “shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof” operateas a limitation on the State. Cf. McPherson v. Blacker, 146 U. S. 1, 25 (1892) (discussing Article II,