A federal judge has ordered Maryland’s top two legislative leaders to testify and turn over records for a lawsuit challenging the 2011 redrawing of the state’s congressional districts, which effectively ensured Democratic control of seven out of eight U.S. House seats. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) and House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) have fought efforts to examine their intentions during the redistricting process, claiming that “legislative privilege” protects them from records requests and litigation related to internal deliberations. But U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar ruled Tuesday that the ability to discover evidence “lies at the heart of this case” and that the legislature’s direct role in the redistricting process “supports overcoming the legislative privilege.” Bredar wrote that the protections Miller and Busch had claimed do not apply in certain types of federal lawsuits, particularly those that don’t involve financial liability.
His order also applies to a number of other current and past state officials who have received subpoenas, including Jeanne D. Hitchcock, who chaired the state’s redistricting commission and was former Democratic governor Martin O’Malley’s appointments secretary; former commission member Richard Stewart; and state Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr. (D-Montgomery).
The plaintiffs are Maryland residents who have asked the court to block the state Board of Elections from enforcing the voting map, which they consider to be gerrymandered, or manipulated in favor of one political party.
Full Article: U.S. judge: Miller, Bush must testify, turn over documents in redistricting case – The Washington Post.