Florida Supreme Court Orders Redrawing Of Some Congressional Districts

By Bill Cotterell

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., July 9 (Reuters) - The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the redrawing of some of the state's U.S. congressional districts before the 2016 elections.

The state's high court found the legislature's redistricting plan was "constitutionally invalid," the latest decision in a long-running legal battle over gerrymandering in the state.

The court said two of the state's 27 congressional districts, currently occupied by Democrat Corrine Brown of Jacksonville and Republican Daniel Webster in the Orlando area, need to be redrawn, as well as adjacent districts.

These districts have been the subject of litigation. A circuit court judge ruled last year that the legislature's 2012 maps "made a mockery" of anti-gerrymandering provisions in the state's constitution.

"The court has made it abundantly clear that partisan gerrymandering will not be tolerated," said attorney David King, representing a group of plaintiffs led by the League of Women Voters of Florida and Common Cause. (Reporting by Bill Cotterell and Letitia Stein; Editing by Bill Trott and Mohammad Zargham)

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