Those seeking to overturn Wisconsin’s congressional map as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander want a hearing before a three-judge panel as soon as Dec. 15.
In a motion filed with the panel, the Dem attorneys argued the parties in the case have had their motion for summary judgment since Sept. 5 and “time is of the essence” to have a new map in place for next fall if the judges rule the current lines are unconstitutional.
But an attorney for the state’s GOP House members called the proposed briefing schedule and request for a hearing “patently unreasonable” after the state Supreme Court just last week appointed the three-judge panel that will hear the suit.
Meanwhile, the three-judge panel hearing a different lawsuit that argues the lines are an anti-competitive gerrymander Tuesday set a Dec. 12 hearing to discuss a timeline for progress in that case.
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In a letter to the parties, Dane County Judge David Conway also set a Dec. 9 deadline for anyone wishing to intervene in the suit.
Following the Supreme Court’s order last week establishing the panels, the Wisconsin Business Leaders for Democracy had asked for a scheduling conference by Dec. 19 to get the case rolling.
Meanwhile, those who are challenging the maps as a partisan gerrymander first filed their request for the appointment of a three-judge panel to hear their challenge July 21. They then moved Sept. 5 for a judgment on their arguments and a briefing schedule. But the court declined to move forward before the state Supreme Court appointed a panel to hear the case.
In a filing Monday, they asked for a Dec. 10 deadline for any filings opposing their motion for judgment. They also wanted until Dec. 15 to respond to those arguments and a hearing the week of Dec. 15 “or as soon as practicable thereafter.”
“If the congressional map is unconstitutional, as Plaintiffs allege, then it must be enjoined and replaced sufficiently far in advance of the upcoming August 2026 congressional primaries to ensure time for a new map that comports with the Wisconsin Constitution to be selected,” the Dem voters argued in their filing.
In Tuesday’s response, GOP attorney Misha Tseytlin countered the proposed timeframe was “so compressed as to be a violation of due process.”
He noted the motion to intervene filed by the state’s GOP House members hadn’t been granted yet. If approved, Tseytlin wrote the GOP congressmen would move to dismiss the suit on numerous grounds. Rather than approving plaintiffs’ scheduling proposal, the Republicans asked the court to schedule a status conference to “discuss reasonable briefing schedules” for various motions that will be filed.
