League of Women Voters of North Carolina et al v. Rucho et al

RESPONSE

M.D.N.C.September 5, 2018

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA COMMON CAUSE, et al., Plaintiffs, v. ROBERT A. RUCHO, in his official capacity as Chairman of the North Carolina Senate Redistricting Committee for the 2016 Extra Session and Co-Chairman of the Joint Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting, et al., Defendants. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) CIVIL ACTION NO. 1:16-CV-1026-WO-JEP THREE-JUDGE COURT League of Women Voters of North Carolina, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Robert A. Rucho, in his official capacity as Chairman of the North Carolina Senate Redistricting Committee for the 2016 Extra Session and Co-Chairman of the 2016 Joint Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting, et al., Defendants. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) CIVIL ACTION NO. 1:16-CV-1164-WO-JEP THREE JUDGE COURT RESPONSE OF THE STATE DEFENDANTS TO LEGISLATIVE DEFENDANTS’ EMERGENCY MOTION TO STAY PENDING SUPREME COURT REVIEW AND REQUEST FOR EXPEDITED RULING Case 1:16-cv-01164-WO-JEP Document 152 Filed 09/05/18 Page 1 of 4 Pursuant to Local Rule 7.2 and the Court’s September 5, 2018 Order, ECF No. 150,1 Defendants Andy Penry, in his official capacity as Chairman of the North Carolina Bipartisan State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement (the “State Board”); the State Board; the State of North Carolina and Governor Roy Cooper hereby respond to the Legislative Defendants’ Emergency Motion to Stay Pending Supreme Court Review and Request for Expedited Ruling, ECF No. 145 (the “Motion”).2 The State takes no position on the Motion, but it believes that a swift decision would advance the public interest. The State Board takes no position on the Motion. The State Board staff stands ready and willing to assist the Court by providing any information the Court finds necessary or helpful. The Governor takes no position on the Motion, but believes that the Court should redraw North Carolina’s congressional maps. 1 Citations to ECF document numbers herein refer to the document numbers in Common Cause et al. v. Rucho et al., No. 1:16-CV-1026. 2 “Legislative Defendants” consist of the following co-defendants in these consolidated matters: Senator Robert Rucho, in his official capacity as co-chair of the Joint Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting (the “Committee”); Representative David Lewis, in his official capacity as co-chair of the Committee; Timothy K. Moore, in his official capacity as Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives; and Philip E. Berger, in his official capacity as President Pro Tempore of the North Carolina Senate. Case 1:16-cv-01164-WO-JEP Document 152 Filed 09/05/18 Page 2 of 4 Respectfully submitted, this 5th day of September, 2018. NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE By: /s/ Alexander McC. Peters Alexander McC. Peters Senior Deputy Attorney General N.C. State Bar No. 13654 apeters@ncdoj.gov James Bernier, Jr. Special Deputy Attorney General N.C. State Bar No. 45869 jbernier@ncdoj.gov N.C. Department of Justice P.O. Box 629 Raleigh, NC 27602 Telephone: (919) 716-6900 Facsimile: (919) 716-6763 Counsel for Defendants Case 1:16-cv-01164-WO-JEP Document 152 Filed 09/05/18 Page 3 of 4 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I, Alexander McC. Peters, hereby certify that I have this day electronically filed the foregoing with the Clerk of Court using the CM/ECF system which will provide electronic notification of the same to the following: Edwin M. Speas, Jr. Carolina P. Mackie Poyner Spruill LLP P.O. Box 1801 (27602-1801) 301 Fayetteville St., Suite 1900 Raleigh, NC 27601 espeas@poynerspruill.com cmackie@poymerspruill.com Attorneys for Plaintiffs Emmet J. Bondurant Jason J. Carter Benjamin W. Thorpe Bondurant, Mixson & Elmore, LLP 1201 W. Peachtree Street, NW, Suite 3900 Atlanta, Georgia 30309 bondurant@bmelaw.com carter@bmelaw.com bthorpe@bmelaw.com Attorneys for Plaintiffs Gregory L. Diskant Susan Millenky Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP 1133 Avenue of the Americas New York, New York 10036 gldiskant@pbwt.com smillenky@pbwt.com Attorneys for Plaintiffs Phillip J. Strach Michael D. McKnight 4208 Six Forks Road, Suite 1100 Raleigh, North Carolina 27609 phil.strach@ogletreedeakins.com michael.mcknight@ogletreedeakins.com Attorneys for Legislative Defendants Dated: September 5, 2018 /s/ Alexander McC. Peters Alexander McC. Peters North Carolina State Bar No. 13654 Special Deputy Attorney General North Carolina Department of Justice P.O. Box 629 Raleigh, NC 27602 Tel: (919) 716-6900 Fax: (919) 716-6763 apeters@ncdoj.gov Case 1:16-cv-01164-WO-JEP Document 152 Filed 09/05/18 Page 4 of 4