Paxton Joins Amicus Brief to Prevent Activist Judges from Drawing New Congressional Maps in Direct Violation of the U.S. Constitution
Attorney General Paxton has joined a multistate amicus brief led by Arkansas and Arizona in the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the North Carolina Supreme Court from blatant judicial activism that directly conflicts with the U.S. Constitution.
AG Paxton’s Office, U.S. Department of Justice Defend Texas’ Redistricting Maps at the U.S. Supreme Court
Attorney General Ken Paxton today commended Texas Solicitor General Scott Keller and a top lawyer for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) after they presented powerful oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in defense of Texas' redistricting maps. Last year, a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court in San Antonio invalidated two of Texas' 36 congrssional districts (27 and 35) and multiple state House districts. Attorney General Paxton appealed the rulings to the high court, which blocked them from taking effect until it could hear the case today.
AG Paxton Files Supreme Court Brief on the Merits in Texas’ Redistricting Case
“In 2012, at the Supreme Court's direction, the federal district court in San Antonio drew the redistricting maps. Those maps were adopted by the Legislature in 2013 and used in the last three election cycles,” Attorney General Paxton said. “Now, we are seeing yet another attempt by unelected federal judges to override the judgment of Texas voters. The lower court's decisions to invalidate parts of the maps it drew and adopted defy law and logic and cannot be sustained.”
AG Paxton: SCOTUS Agrees to Review Texas’ Redistricting Case
“We are eager for the chance to present our case before the U.S. Supreme Court, which ordered the district court in San Antonio to draw lawful congressional and House maps in 2012 that the Legislature adopted in 2013 and used in the last three elections,” Attorney General Paxton said. “The lower court's decisions to invalidate parts of the maps it drew and adopted is inexplicable and indefensible.”
Texas AG’s Office Files Brief with U.S. Supreme Court Challenging Unconstitutional Fee Order in Texas v. Wendy Davis
“The district court had no authority to award attorneys’ fees under a law that was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court nearly a full year prior,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said. “As numerous courts have recognized, opinions by the highest court in the land take effect the moment they are handed down from the bench. As such, the fee order by the lower court should be reversed.”
Attorney General Paxton Asks SCOTUS to Declare Redistricting Attorneys’ Fees Award Unconstitutional Under Shelby County v. Holder
“Supreme Court opinions have the binding effect of law the day they are issued,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said. “The lower courts were unjustified in compelling Texas to pay attorneys’ fees under a law that was invalidated as unconstitutional a full year earlier. We are asking the Court to step in to preserve its authority to establish the supreme law of the land.”