A federal judge Thursday morning rejected a request by legislative leaders to extend the deadline for a new congressional map and singled out the Louisiana House for withering criticism, our media partners at The Advocate report.
U. S. District Judge Shelly Dick, who has ordered lawmakers to approve a new map with a second majority-Black district, issued her ruling after a 90-minute hearing. She turned down a request from the House and the Senate to extend her June 20 to at least June 30, but she singled out the House for criticism, The Advocate reports.
Dick noted that, while complaining about a short deadline, the House met only briefly yesterday.
"With five days to work with they met for 90 minutes," she said.
When House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, R-Gonzales, got on the stand, the judge asked why he should not be held on contempt of court because he filed a bill that mirrors the current map under fire with one of the state's six congressional districts having a majority-Black configuration, the Advocate reports.
Schexnayder said his bill was a mere "placeholder" that could be used in case it was needed.
But Dick branded the House actions "disingenuous" and "insincere" and noted that, in 1994, the Legislature approved a new congressional map in six days, the newspaper reports.
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