Every ten years, the reapportionment process in New York State is held hostage by legislative inertia, but this time the process has sunk to a new low. As of this writing, New York does not have any adopted map with revised districts for the State Assembly, State Senate or for Congress.
A federal court has ordered that the primaries for Congressional seats be held on June 26th and the petitioning process for that election begins on March 20th. But the current lines cannot be used because, as a result of population shifts, New York will lose two Congressional seats.
As a result of the state's failure to create new district lines, a three judge federal court panel in Brooklyn has decided that it will oversee the reapportionment of New York's Congressional districts.
Newman Ferrara attorneys Randolph McLaughlin and Jeffrey Norton serve as co-counsel to a group of African-American voters who have intervened as plaintiffs in the pending federal case.
Due to the short time frame involved, the panel has ordered the parties to file proposed maps and all supporting data on February 29, 2012. The panel also appointed Magistrate Judge Roanne L. Mann to serve as a Special Master to oversee the creation of a map for the Congressional seats.
Judge Mann is scheduled to hold a hearing on March 5, 2011--at which time she will hear arguments on the parties' submissions and will likely render a decision before the March 20th petitioning process begins.
Stay tuned for more developments as they unfold.