DESENA et al v. STATE OF MAINE et al

Filing 34

ORDER REGARDING PLAN FOR REDISTRICTING By JUDGE GEORGE Z. SINGAL. (lrc)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MAINE
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) Docket No.
) 1:11-cv-117-GZS-DBH-BMS
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WILLIAM DESENA &
SANDRA DUNHAM,
Plaintiffs,
v.
PAUL LEPAGE, in his official capacity as
Governor of the State of Maine, et al.
Defendants.

ORDER REGARDING PLAN FOR REDISTRICTING
The panel has reviewed and discussed the proposed orders and comments on said
orders (Docket #s 25-29 & 31), all of which were filed in accordance with the Court’s
June 9, 2011 oral order (Docket # 22). In furtherance of this Court’s June 21, 2011
Memorandum and Order (Docket # 33), the Court now hereby ORDERS:
1. All Defendants shall proceed forthwith with the process of redistricting in
accordance with the June 21, 2011 Memorandum and Order.
2. Defendants shall file regular status reports on the docket regarding the progress of
their redistricting efforts. The first status report shall be filed on or before July 5,
2011. Additional status reports shall be filed every twenty days thereafter. All
other parties may comment or supplement a status report by filing a response on
the docket within five days of the filing of any status report.
3. The Court anticipates that the Maine Legislature will complete its redistricting
work no later than September 30, 2011. To the extent that the Maine Supreme
Judicial Court plays any role in the redistricting for the 2012 congressional
election, the Court anticipates the Maine Supreme Judicial Court will complete its
work no later than November 15, 2011. If a redistricting plan based on the 2010
census data is not adopted in accordance with these deadlines, the Court will
proceed with its own reapportionment of Maine’s congressional districts in order
to cure the Constitutional violation prior to January 1, 2012.

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4. If at any point the Court determines that Defendants are not acting expeditiously
to complete reapportionment in accordance with the orders of this Court, the
Court may issue additional orders on or before November 15, 2011 in order to put
into place a schedule that allows this Court to complete redistricting by the end of
this year.
5. The parties shall appear for a conference of counsel before Judge Singal on July
6, 2011 at 11:00 AM. If all parties are not available at this time, they shall
immediately contact Judge Singal’s case manager to reschedule the conference for
another time during the week of July 5, 2011. The purpose of this conference
shall be to discuss establishing a mechanism for the parties to collect and provide
to the Court any and all demographic data that is relevant to the redistricting
process. While the Court only anticipates needing this data if Defendants do not
comply with the deadlines set forth in this Order, the Court wishes to have such
data available in a useable format no later than November 15, 2011.
6. This Court shall retain jurisdiction until completion of the redistricting process
and the entry of a final order of this Court.

SO ORDERED.
/s/ George Z. Singal
United States District Judge
Dated this 22nd day of June, 2011.

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