(Bloomberg) — The US Supreme Court refused to shield three Republican lawmakers from being questioned under oath in lawsuits by the Biden administration and civil rights groups that claim new voting maps in Texas are racially discriminatory.
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The justices, without comment or noted dissent, left in force a lower court order that allows depositions of three state representatives whose legislative districts are at issue in the cases.
The suits seek to force Texas to redraw its congressional and state House maps in time for the 2024 election. The Justice Department and civil rights groups contend the current lines dilute the power of Black and Latino voters in violation of the Voting Rights Act.
In asking the Supreme Court to block the questioning, the lawmakers argued they are shielded by legislative privilege. Two lower courts rejected that argument as premature, saying Representatives Ryan Guillen, Brooks Landgraf and John Lujan could object to particular questions but couldn’t avoid sitting for depositions altogether.
The Supreme Court is planning to use an Alabama redistricting case in its next term to consider narrowing the Voting Rights Act. The justices in February blocked a map that would have carved out a second heavily Black congressional district in Alabama, reinstating Republican-drawn lines that create only one such district.
The case is Guillen v. League of United Latin American Citizens, 21A756.
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