More than 500 people across the country have been killed by police so far this year, which is already more than the number of police killings recorded for all of last year. We discuss the importance of recording these events. We also catch up on the latest news out of Washington D.C., and we talk to the supporter of a federal lawsuit over redistricting in Wisconsin.
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Former GOP State Senator Supports Redistricting Lawsuit Filed By Democrats
A former Republican state senator is advocating on behalf of a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday by a group of Democrats against state election officials over redistricting by Republican lawmakers in 2011.
Dale Schultz said he’s a proud Republican who wants his party to win, but democracy requires truly competitive elections.
“There’s something horribly amiss in our politics when our elected representatives are choosing their voters rather than the voters choosing them. And they seem to be arrogant and out of touch with what the public wants,” Schultz said.
The new lawsuit alleges the districts — which Schultz said were redrawn to solidify GOP support in certain districts that helped to give the party a firm grip on state government — are so partisan that they’re unconstitutional.
It follows separate litigation that led a three-judge panel to redraw two Assembly districts and reprimand Republican lawmakers for drawing their new maps in secret. The panel determined that two districts on Milwaukee’s south side violated voting rights of Latinos there.
Both major parties have taken advantage of redistricting laws in the past, and Schultz said the results are always the same.
“The will of the electorate is ignored,” he said. “There has to be a way of getting around legislators who hold all the levers of power, and that way is the third branch of government, the judicial branch.”
Schultz said the latest lawsuit seeks to provide the courts with a formula to test for unconstitutional redistricting.
In 1986, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Davis v. Bandemer that claims of gerrymandering were within the judiciary’s purview and redistricting can be ruled unconstitutional in severe cases.
Twenty years later, several court decisions confirmed their competency to handle gerrymandering claims, however, the high court justices couldn’t agree on an appropriate test.
“There is a mathematical and simple procedure that can be used to determine what is unconstitutional gerrymandering,” said Schultz. “That’s what we’re asking the courts to decide (in this latest lawsuit).”
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Group Of Democrats File Federal Lawsuit Over Redistricting In 2011
On Wednesday a group of Democrats filed a federal lawsuit against state election officials over redistricting by Republican lawmakers in 2011. Former Republican state senator Dale Schultz explains why he supports the lawsuit and what alternative method for district-drawing the plaintiffs are presenting.
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This Week In Washington – July 8, 2015
Harry Enten, senior political writer and analyst for FiveThirtyEight, joins Central Time for our weekly look at the most pressing issues in national politics.
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Counting Police Killings In The United States
Data released by police departments and other law enforcement agencies does not tell the whole story of people killed by police. The Guardian US has taken on the task of creating a database of all of those deaths. It is called The Counted. Then WPR’s criminal justice reporter talks about the importance of this type of data.
Episode Credits
- Rob Ferrett Host
- Amanda Magnus Producer
- Galen Druke Producer
- Judith Siers-Poisson Producer
- Dale Schultz Guest
- Harry Enten Guest
- Oliver Laughland Guest
- Gilman Halsted Guest
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