The Supreme Court of Ohio ordered members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission to appear for a hearing next Tuesday to explain why they missed a deadline to pass new state legislative maps.
All seven members of the commission, including Gov. Mike DeWine, are required to tell the court why they should not be held in contempt for failing to fulfill the court’s order that some commission members bemoaned as an impossible task.
OHIO SUPREME COURT AGAIN REJECTS LEGISLATIVE MAPS AS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
“On February 18, 2022, this court ordered, sun sponte, that respondents show cause why they should not be found in contempt for failure to comply with this court’s February 7, 2022, order. Respondents have timely filed responses to the court’s order to show cause It is ordered that all respondents shall appear in person in this court for a hearing on March 1, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. The hearing will continue until the matter is heard,” the court said.
DeWine’s son, Republican Justice Pat DeWine, recused himself from the hearing because it involves his father. His recusal does not extend to the broader case about the state’s maps. The court threw out the Republican-backed state House and Senate maps on Feb. 7 and mandated the commission present new maps to the court by Feb. 17, which it failed to do.
Republican Senate President Matt Huffman said the court’s proportionality requirements for the maps were difficult to achieve without violating the state constitution’s anti-gerrymandering rules. The two Democrats on the commission produced maps, but those were rejected by the Republicans, who outnumber them. DeWine said the commission should have sent the court something.
“Whether we like the court order or don’t like court order, we have obligation to try to follow it, and we also have obligation to produce a map,” DeWine said, according to Spectrum News 1 Ohio. “We did not do that, and I think we should have produced a map. It might not have been everything that the court said, but I think we could’ve got closer to what the court was ordering us to do.”
Republican Justice Sharon Kennedy dissented with the court order but did not elaborate on why in a letter. Some members of the commission argued they should not be penalized individually for the commission’s court violation because they could not control how other members voted. The maximum fine for contempt of court in Ohio is up to $250 and 30 days in jail, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
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As the state legislative maps remained deadlocked in the state, the primary election for legislative races is set to take place May 3.
In addition to the state maps being held up in court, the commission is also working on a congressional map. The Supreme Court of Ohio nixed the commission’s previous congressional map last month, ruling the proposal included unconstitutional gerrymandering.
