Justices on the U.S. Supreme Court peppered attorneys for Democrats and minority groups and the state’s lawyer with questions during Wednesday arguments over Texas’ 2003 redistricting plan, which gave Republicans a 22-11 advantage in the state’s congressional delegation.
But as they listened to the arguments, the justices appeared more interested in whether the Texas Legislature violated the federal Voting Rights Act when it drew three districts in South and West Texas and the Dallas area and less interested in the partisan gerrymandering issue that some had believed was the reason the Court agreed to hear the redistricting dispute.
