BALTIMORE — A judge on Tuesday deferred ruling on whether to keep alive a challenge by Republican lawmakers to Maryland’s plan for redrawing the state’s congressional district boundary lines.
Judge Lynne A. Battaglia, a retired state appeals court judge assigned to the case, had said last week that she would issue a decision by Tuesday after hearing arguments from attorneys for two groups of Republicans, as well as lawyers for Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, a Democrat defending the state in the case.
But Battaglia told attorneys in an email Tuesday that she would not rule until after convening a hearing Wednesday on the challenge by one of the groups. That group includes Delegate Neil Parrott, a Washington County Republican who was among the organizers of last December’s lawsuit.
Both GOP groups contend the map was unfairly drawn to favor Democrats and doesn’t abide by Maryland constitutional guidelines.
Democratic leaders maintained during the General Assembly’s debate last year that the new map is fair.
The state has moved to dismiss both challenges, saying the maps don’t violate state constitutional provisions.
If Battaglia allows the challenge to go forward, the judge said she hopes to hold a trial in mid-March and issue a final ruling before that month’s end.
The primary is June 28, and the state has said it is concerned that its time to prepare for the balloting may be shortened.
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