The New York Times has this piece  on redistricting in North Carolina after the Tsunami of November 2.  One casualty of the Tsunami may well be former Redskins QB turned Congressman Heath Shuler.  He won his reelection on November 2, but may well be redistricted out by a state government turned entirely Republican.

From the piece:

“It also means that Republicans will hold the pencil when districts are redrawn next year.
Gerrymandering, Republicans say, was the reason behind the defensive stand by North Carolina’s House Democrats, who were able to bear the national Republican tidal wave and keep seven of their eight seats and the majority among the state’s delegation. (In the other chamber, Senator Richard M. Burr, a Republican, easily won re-election.)   When the new district lines are drawn, said Larry Ford, chairman of the Republican Party in Rutherford County, ‘Heath Shuler is toast.’”

The big question in 2011 is whether the Department of Justice, which must preclear any redistricting plans in North Carolina, will leverage their power to protect democrats like Heath Shuler.  For the first time ever, democrats will be in charge of the Justice Department redistrcting review.  Let me be specific, democrats will be in charge of the political offices that review the work of “career” employees.  This highlights a message every state subject to Section 5 needs to hear loud and clear:

Go straight to U.S. District Court to have your plans approved.

Again, go straight to U.S. District Court to have your plans approved.

I and others will be writing in more detail about why this is the most economical, and the choice most likely to result in a plan that most closely resembles what the GOP legislatures wanted in the first place.  The best advice that attorneys can give to their clients regarding redistricting plans is to go straight to U.S. District Court to have your plans approved.

The chief reason to go to court is that the states and jurisdictions will have a genuinely neutral decisionmaker (judges) in charge of the process.  The second reason this is better is that all of the review will be conducted in the open with established rules of discovery and process.  Think that DOJ isn’t capable of mischief in a redistricting review?  Suggest you read the Johnson v. Miller cases from Georgia, particularly the District Court opinion.

Any Republican legislature or governor that submits redistricting plans to the DOJ is inviting mischief in the review process.  Again, I along with others will be writing in greater detail about this in the months ahead.  For now, recognize there are better options than submitting a redistricting plan to the DOJ, especially with so many Blue-Dogs on the bubble.

H/T to DP for the story.