Bartlett v. Stephenson

Applicants, North Carolina officials charged with administering the State’s elections, seek a stay of a decision of the Supreme Court of North Carolina invalidating North Carolina’s 2001 state legislative redistricting plan under the North Carolina Constitution. The application is denied.

The Supreme Court of North Carolina held that the 2001 plan violated what is known as the “whole county provision” of the North Carolina Constitution, which provides that “no county shall be divided in the formation of a senate or representative district,” N. C. Const., Art. II, �3(3). See ___ N. C. ___, ___, ___ S. E. 2d, ___, ___ (2002) (slip op., at 31). The court thus affirmed a lower court injunction enjoining petitioners from conducting any elections under the 2001 plan and ordered that a new plan be drawn. Id., at 4, 47. The court directed the state trial court to conduct a hearing on whether it is feasible for the state legislature to develop a new plan for the 2002 elections. If it is not, then the trial court is directed to solicit plans and adopt one. Id., at 45-46.