Texas Redistricting Back In Court

From AP: The Supreme Court said Monday it would consider the constitutionality of a Texas congressional map engineered by Rep. map engineered by Rep. Tom DeLay that helped Republicans gain seats in Congress.

The 2003 boundaries helped Republicans win 21 of the state's 32 seats in Congress in the last election, up from 15. They were approved amid a nasty battle between Republican leaders and Democrats and minority groups in Texas.

The contentiousness also reached Washington, where the Justice Department approved the plan although staff lawyers concluded that it diluted minority voting rights. Because of past discrimination against minority voters, Texas is required to get Justice Department approval for any voting changes to ensure they don't undercut minority voting.

the rest....

Verrrrrrrry interesting...

Note that Texas was redistricted after the Republicans gained control of the state legislature in 2002, aided by the money laundering that DeLay and company are now accused of.