By Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services/Arizona Daily Star
Members of the Independent Redistricting Commission do not need to answer certain questions from those who are suing them, a federal court has ruled.
The judges accepted the argument by commission attorneys that its members are entitled to the same immunity from having to explain their decisions as state legislators. That allows them to rebuff inquiries from those who are suing them.
But the judges hearing the case set for trial next month cautioned the commissioners that they may want to think twice before asserting that privilege. They ruled any claim of privilege is an all-or-nothing prospect.
The ruling – and the warning – could ultimately affect the outcome of the case.
Challengers contend that at least some of the five commissioners had improper and illegal motives in how they drew the lines for the state’s 30 legislative districts.
The court’s decision, in essence, means that if commissioners seeking to rebut those allegations claim the privilege, they cannot decide halfway through the case they now want to explain their personal reasons for making those decisions.
