In a unanimous ruling this morning, the US Supreme Court sent the Gill v. Whitford case back to the lower courts. The court ruled that the plaintiffs did not have article III standing to claim damages on a state-wide basis.
However, the court also ruled 7-2 to send the case back down to the lower courts "so that the plaintiffs may have an opportunity to prove concrete and particularized injuries using evidence — unlike the bulk of the evidence presented thus far — that would tend to demonstrate a burden on their individual votes."
This leaves the opportunity for further argument in the lower courts to prove the complaint in a manner that may pass muster in the case of a further appeal. Although local activists have been severely disappointed in the ruling, the case will likely continue in some form or another - although clearly at this point it is unlikely there will be any remedy for the mid-term elections in November.
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Steve is a web designer and recently retired from running the hosting and development company Cruiskeen Consulting LLC. Cruiskeen Consulting LLC is the parent company of Wis.Community, and publication of this site continues after his retirement.
Steve is a member of LION Publishers and the Local Media Association, is active in Health Dunn Right, and is vice-president of the League of Women Voters of the greater Chippewa Valley
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