Court Opinion

ID: 9850105
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 04:52:11.434418+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:20:31.812157
License: Public Domain

DONALDSON, Chief Justice,
concurring and concurring in the result.
I concur in Parts I, II and IV of the majority opinion. However, I concur only in the result as to Part III. The manner in which Ada County was divided into districts under H.B. 746 as amended gives an appearance of impermissible gerrymandering. Particularly so, when compared to a plan presented by the majority of the Ada County legislators who intervened in this law suit. Their proposed plan divided Ada County into eight districts, with no floterial district. The boundaries of the districts substantially followed the district lines in Plan 14(b). However, the plan had a population deviation of 11.39%. Under the guidelines set forth in Brown v. Thomson, supra, this is prima facie discriminatory and has to be justified to be held constitutional. To determine the constitutionality of the plan would require an evidentiary hearing and there is insufficient time to hold such a hearing. The deadline for filing declarations of candidacy is only a few days away and the legislature has refused to move the date for the primary elections to a later date. Thus, I am forced to reluctantly concur in the result as to Part III.
Part III approves of the 14(b) Plan for Ada County which contains a floterial district for Ada County. I do not approve of floterial districts unless they are necessary to bring the population deviation to within constitutional limits.