Overview
- At initial hearings, both panels focused on scheduling and signaled the congressional map cases may not be resolved before the 2026 midterms.
- Plaintiffs in the Elias Law Group case asked for a phased schedule to enable a new map for 2026, with the elections agency saying it would need lines by about March 1.
- Republican attorneys argued a pre-2026 remedy is impossible, and the presiding judge cautioned the panel must take time to digest the issues.
- In the business-led Law Forward case, all sides agreed to a slower calendar with a potential trial date of March 29, 2027, as judges noted limited staff and cross-county coordination.
- Defendants have moved to dismiss both suits, any panel decision can be appealed to the state Supreme Court, and the current map continues to deliver six of eight U.S. House seats to Republicans.