ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A judge on Friday ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in the Congressional redistricting trial.
The plaintiffs argued that the new congressional map enacted by the Maryland General Assembly in December was gerrymandered.
The judge said in her opinion, "the evidence presented by the experts yields the conclusion that the 2021 Congressional Plan in Maryland is an 'outlier,' an extreme political gerrymander that subordinates constitutional criteria to political considerations."
The judge added that while the map is contiguous and has relatively equal population in each district, the map lacked compactness and failed "to give 'due regard' to 'the boundaries of political subdivisions.'"
Fair Maps Maryland released a statement, along with the release of the judgement, saying in part, "this is a win for democracy plain and simple."
Over the weekend, one of Maryland's delegates arguing for new maps had to apologize for comments she made about the House Speaker and Senate President.
Republican representative Kathy Szeliga deleted an explicit tweet in response to speaker Adrienne Jones' statement on the ruling.
I sincerely apologize for a tweet I sent this morning meant as a private message to a close friend.
— Kathy Szeliga (@KathyforMD) March 26, 2022
It was immediately deleted and totally inappropriate. I’m truly sorry @SpeakerAJones and @SenBillFerg
Governor Larry Hogan has long been critical of the maps passed by the legislature.
Hogan issued a statement lauding the judge's decision while calling on lawmakers to allow maps that an independent commission recommended last November.
Following today’s monumental ruling, I am calling on the General Assembly to immediately pass the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission’s maps. My full statement: pic.twitter.com/pzwWPyc1B4
— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) March 25, 2022
The judge has ordered the Maryland General Assembly to redraw a map by March 30th.
The Maryland Attorney General's office, the legal team representing the state officials in this case, tell us they are reviewing the decision and haven't yet decided to appeal.
The issue of appeals came up several times during oral arguments and the judge stated at one point she assumed that whichever way she decided the case was likely going to go to the Court of Appeals.
The entire opinion can be read below.
And here is a copy of the declaratory judgment.
