County Requests Stay of Redistricting Ruling

Attorneys for Los Angeles County on Monday petitioned the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to stay a federal judge’s order requiring the Board of Supervisors to redraw district lines. They also asked the court to consider immediately an appeal of the historic ruling that the boundaries discriminate against Latinos.

However, county lawyers have acknowledged that there is little chance the appeals court will grant their request. If the petition is denied, the county will appeal again when U.S. District Judge David V. Kenyon’s final order is signed, possibly in July, county attorneys said.

On Friday, Kenyon refused to stay his order and allow the county to immediately appeal the case, saying it is “more appropriate for the county to simply let this court finish its duties.”

The judge earlier this month ruled that supervisors in 1981 drafted a redistricting plan that diluted the voting strength of the county’s 3 million Latinos.