A U.S. judge issued an unusual dissenting opinion yesterday lambasting an earlier ruling that blocked Texas Republicans from using a new congressional map, saying he had been cut out of the decision-making process by two other judges on a three-judge panel.
U.S. Circuit Judge Jerry Smith said in his dissent that he was outraged by Tuesday's decision, which was a major blow for Republicans, in Texas and nationally, who redrew the state's electoral districts at the behest of President Trump. Read the dissent here.
Smith, an appointee of former President Reagan, was one of three federal judges who conducted a non-jury trial last month to determine if the Texas map unlawfully sorted voters based on their race, as civil rights groups have alleged.
The other two judges on the panel, Jeffrey V. Brown and David Guaderrama, on Tuesday issued their majority opinion, which said the Texas map was likely unlawful and should be blocked from taking effect. They noted that Smith had cast a dissenting vote, and said that because of the need to move quickly his dissenting opinion would be published at a later date.
"Judges in the majority don't get to tell a dissenting judge or judges that they can't participate," Smith wrote. He went on the criticize the majority opinion's legal reasoning, asserting: "If this were a law school exam, the opinion would deserve an 'F.'" Read more from Jan Wolfe.
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