Colorado Court Says Redistricting Is Unconstitutional
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 11:53 a.m. ET

DENVER (AP) -- In a decision with national implications, the Colorado Supreme Court threw out the state's new congressional districts Monday saying the GOP-led Legislature redrew the maps in violation of the state constitution.

The General Assembly is required to redraw the maps only after each Census and before the ensuing general election -- not at any other time, the court said in a closely watched 5-2 decision that followed party lines. A similar court battle is being waged in Texas.

Under the ruling, Colorado's seven congressional districts revert to boundaries drawn up by a Denver judge last year after lawmakers failed to agree.

The issue before the court was whether the redistricting map pushed through the Legislature by Republicans this year was illegal. Colorado's constitution calls for redistricting only once a decade and Democrats contended that task was completed by the judge.

Republicans said the map drawn by the judge was temporary and the law requires redistricting work to be done by the Legislature.

The court rejected that argument, saying: ``Because the General Assembly failed to redistrict during this constitutional window, it relinquished its authority to redistrict until after the 2010 census. There is no language empowering the General Assembly to redistrict more frequently or at any other time.''

The justices chastised the lawmakers for claiming they should be able to redraw the maps ``two, or even 10 times in a single decade.''