The Artic-Sounder reports:

“All the disruptions of redistricting that are necessarily endured
every 10 years will be repeated in the next two,” states the final
supreme court opinion. “The cause of this drastic remedy, according to
the majority opinion, is the Board’s use of unchallenged districts in
devising a Hickel plan.”

The Hickel process requires the board to draw up voting districts
with first Alaska’s constitutional requirements in mind, and then
determine if the plan meets federal voting laws. Those requirements are
often incredibly difficult to meet simultaneously.

Deviation from Alaska constitutional requirements are then allowed only if it is the sole way to comply with federal mandate.