TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A divided Florida Supreme Court says it will settle a dispute over secret evidence used at a trial to decide whether legislators broke the law when drawing up new political maps.
In a 5-2 decision, the court on Tuesday said it will hear an appeal over whether evidence taken from a Gainesville political consulting firm should have been used in a redistricting trial. The trial dealing with maps for Congress ended earlier this month.
The evidence was heard at the trial, but it was kept from the public under a previous order from the high court.
The firm Data Targeting and its employees maintain that disclosure of emails and other documents will violate trade secrets and First Amendment rights.
A verdict in the trial still has not been reached.
