Judge Refuses Stay on Order to Redraw Election Boundaries

U.S. District Judge David V. Kenyon on Friday refused to stay his order requiring the county Board of Supervisors to redraw election boundaries while the board appeals his ruling that current district lines discriminate against Latinos.

The judge also refused to allow the county an immediate appeal of his ruling in the historic civil rights case.

Attorneys for the supervisors said that, while the rulings came as no surprise, the requests were steps they had to take in an ongoing effort to overturn the judge’s finding. Kenyon has ruled that the county board intentionally discriminated against Latinos by drawing district lines that diluted their voting power.

John McDermott, an attorney representing the county, said he now plans to file on Monday a “writ of mandate” with the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, seeking to have the judges intervene and essentially take control of the case.

Despite the board’s resolve to take advantage of every legal step possible, McDermott acknowledged that there was little chance that the appeals court will grant his request.

If the motion is denied, the county will appeal again when Kenyon’s final order is signed, possibly sometime in July, McDermott said.

“There were errors in the ruling, blatantly and obviously so,” McDermott said of Kenyon’s initial finding in the case. “There will be 9th Circuit review, whether it happens now, or three months from now.”

Kenyon, in rejecting the county’s request, said it is “more appropriate for the county to simply let this court finish its duties. That should take place, hopefully, in a short time and then let the 9th Circuit have the entire case in its lap.”

The judge, after his finding two weeks ago that the board violated the Voting Rights Act and constitutional protections of equal treatment under the law, ordered the supervisors to redraw district lines and submit their proposal to the court by June 27. The district lines should attempt to maximize the voting strength of the Latino community, straddling East Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley.

Richard Fajardo, an attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund that was a plaintiff in the lawsuit, urged Kenyon on Friday to deny the county’s request for a stay, saying it would result in “piecemeal litigation.”

He said the county’s request “was consistent with their attempt to delay the inevitable.”

Steven Rosenbaum, an attorney with the Justice Department, which joined MALDEF in the suit, said the stay and appeals “serve only one purpose, to delay.”

McDermott said Kenyon’s rulings will cloud a November election in the 1st Supervisorial District. No candidate won a majority in the primary election held two weeks ago, so two candidates--Sarah Flores and Superior Court Judge Gregory O’Brien--are scheduled in a runoff election.

But attorneys for both sides in the case say that Kenyon will likely invalidate the primary election results and order that a new primary election be held in newly drawn districts in November.

McDermott said the scheduled elections should be allowed to proceed and new elections held only after all appeals are exhausted.