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In reply to the discussion: Trump's Justice Department may have accidentally handed Democrats five House seats - Ian Millhiser @ Vox [View all]LetMyPeopleVote
(172,946 posts)35. There is a crazed dissent to this ruling that is really strange
I have been volunteering on election law/voting rights matters since 2004 and Prof. Hasen is a great source of information in this area. This dissent is nuts
Judge Jerry Smith Issues His 104-Page Dissent to Yesterdayâs 3-Judge District Court Holding that Texasâs Re-Redistricting is Likely an Unconstitutional Racial Gerrymander. Along the Way He Calls Out the âPerniciousâ & âOutrageousâ Behavior of Judge Brown in the Majority electionlawblog.org?p=153106
— Rick Hasen (@rickhasen.bsky.social) 2025-11-19T20:44:24.987Z
https://electionlawblog.org/?p=153106
It begins with a remarkable attack on Judge Brown (a Trump appointee) explaining that Smith was not responsible for any delay in issuing the decision:
And then turning to the merits:
[This post is in progress]
In my 37 years on the federal bench, this is the most outrageous conduct by a judge that I have ever encountered in a case in which I have been involved.
In summary, Judge Brown has issued a 160-page opinion without giving me any reasonable opportunity to respond. I will set forth the details. The readers can judge for themselves.
And then turning to the merits:
The main winners from Judge Browns opinion are George Soros andmGavin Newsom. The obvious losers are the People of Texas and the Rule of Law. I dissent.
In the interest of time, this dissent is, admittedly, disjointed. Usually, in dissenting from an opinion of this length, I would spend more days refining and reorganizing the dissent for purposes of impact and readability. But that approach is not reasonably possible here because these two judges have not allowed it.
The resulting dissent is far from a literary masterpiece. If, however, there were a Nobel Prize for Fiction, Judge Browns opinion would be a prime candidate.
[This post is in progress]
See also
Link to tweet

I tried to read this dissent but is very disjointed and poorly written
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Trump's Justice Department may have accidentally handed Democrats five House seats - Ian Millhiser @ Vox [View all]
In It to Win It
Tuesday
OP
Trump will raise hell with 'Pam' to find a way to overturn CA redistricting on same arguement
Attilatheblond
Tuesday
#2
100 percent. There's literally no such thing as settled law in our legal system.
BannonsLiver
Tuesday
#24
It's my understanding that the CA redistricting is strictly conditioned on that of TX.
John Farmer
Tuesday
#8
Nah, not now that the people of CA have spoken. They're going through with this. Thanks, Texas.
ancianita
Tuesday
#11
What happens to California's Prop 50 maps if Texas redistricting efforts are blocked?
LetMyPeopleVote
Tuesday
#17
But how many politicians graduate below the 50% line in any field. Then went into politics.
erronis
Tuesday
#32
I hope California doesn't back down and they go forward with what they're gonna do until after the midterms
oldmanlynn
Tuesday
#20
That is what I was going to ask, will this mean California may back off? I think they should stay
Bev54
Tuesday
#27
Yeah, if there's one thing the SC 6 can be relied on for, it's bending rules for Trump
muriel_volestrangler
Tuesday
#30