(Source: MIRS.news, Published 11/01/2023) (KALAMAZOO) - A three-judge panel heard from five members of the Michigan Independent Citizen Redistricting Commission (MICRC) Wednesday during the opening of the Agee et. Al v. Bensonhere. Detroit-based defendants are trying to force the redrawing of seven state House and six state Senate districts because they weren't drawn with majority Black populations.
Attorneys for a group of metro Detroit residents led by Donald Agee were confident of their chances to get the district maps redrawn after commissioners Rebecca Szetela, M.C. Rothhorn, Juanita Curry, Rhonda Lange, and Erin Wagner testified. Attorneys said they have already proven the maps were drawn based on race, which would send those maps back to the drawing board.
Szetela’s testimony took up most of the day as the plaintiffs attempted to lay out arguments that the maps drawn by the MICRC in 2021 violated the federal Voting Rights Act and 14th Amendment by diluting the Black vote in Wayne County and Detroit.
“We haven’t had a chance to provide arguments. It was the first day of trial, so we have a long way to go, but we’re confident in our legal team and in our process to follow the seven-ranked redistricting criteria as outlined in the Michigan Constitution,” said MICRC Executive Director Edward Woods III.
The federal three-judge panel (U.S. 6th Circuit Judge Raymond Kethledge, U.S. Western District of Michigan Judge Paul Maloney and U.S. Western District of Michigan Janet Neff) will be determining whether or not the MICRC went too far in lowering the percentage of Black voters in Detroit-area House and Senate districts to the point they wouldn’t be able to elect Black representation.
“We’re looking forward to our opportunity to prove our case in court,” Woods said.
The Plaintiff's attorneys said they would argue during the second day of trial that they could prove that Black representation was in question throughout House Districts 1, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, and 14; and Senate Districts 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, and 11.
The Agee v. Benson trial would be the last hurdle for the maps drawn by the MICRC. If the MICRC were to successfully defend its maps in the case, it could lead to the dormancy of the commission unless another lawsuit were brought.
If the MICRC were to lose, it would mean the commission would need to go back to the drawing board to produce a new set of maps.
