Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/18pdf/18-422_9ol1.pdf
Page Number: 10.0

Cite as:  588 U. S. ____ (2019) 

5 

Opinion of the Court 

interest  in  protecting  incumbents  neutrally  explained  the 
2016 Plan’s discriminatory effects.  Id., at 896–899.  In the 
end,  the  District  Court  held  that  12  of  the  13  districts 
constituted partisan gerrymanders that violated the Equal 
Protection Clause.  Id., at 923. 

The  court  also  agreed  with  the  plaintiffs  that  the  2016 
Plan discriminated against them because of their political 
speech  and  association,  in  violation  of  the  First  Amend-
ment.  Id., at 935.  Judge Osteen dissented with respect to 
that  ruling.  Id.,  at  954–955.    Finally,  the  District  Court 
concluded that the 2016 Plan violated the Elections Clause 
and  Article  I,  §2.    Id.,  at  935–941.    The  District  Court 
enjoined  the  State  from  using  the  2016  Plan  in  any  elec-
tion after the November 2018 general election.  Id., at 942. 
The  defendants  again  appealed  to  this  Court,  and  we 

postponed jurisdiction.  586 U. S. ___ (2019). 

B 

The second case before us is Lamone v. Benisek, No. 18– 
726.  In  2011,  the  Maryland  Legislature—dominated  by 
Democrats—undertook  to  redraw  the  lines  of  that  State’s 
eight  congressional  districts.    The  Governor  at  the  time, 
Democrat Martin O’Malley, led the process.  He appointed
a  redistricting  committee  to  help  redraw  the  map,  and 
asked  Congressman  Steny  Hoyer,  who  has  described
himself as a “serial gerrymanderer,” to advise the commit-
tee.  348  F. Supp.  3d  493,  502  (Md.  2018).    The  Governor 
later  testified  that  his  aim  was  to  “use  the  redistricting 
process  to  change  the  overall  composition  of  Maryland’s
congressional delegation to 7 Democrats and 1 Republican
by flipping” one district.  Ibid.  “[A] decision was made to 
go for the Sixth,” ibid., which had been held by a Republi-
can for nearly two decades.  To achieve the required equal
population  among  districts,  only  about  10,000  residents
needed to be removed from that district.  Id., at 498.  The 
2011  Plan  accomplished  that  by  moving  roughly  360,000