City Council election case moving forward

Attorney Bill Aleshire, who represents a dozen Austin voters who feel aggrieved by City Council redistricting, said Wednesday that the 3rd Court of Appeals had turned down his request to hear the case. That’s good news, Aleshire said, because it means the case, Cheatham v. Adler, can move directly to the Supreme Court after a decision from the Travis County district court. Aleshire filed his suit in Travis County as required, but simultaneously asked the court of appeals and the Texas Supreme Court to hear the case, which will test the theory that voters are unconstitutionally disenfranchised when they are moved from one district to another and therefore lose their right to vote for two years or more. The case is set for trial in Judge Lora Livingston’s court in Travis County on May 12. Livingston could grant the city’s motion for summary judgment without taking any evidence, which would send the case to the Supreme Court, or she could hear evidence and make her decision. Either way, the losing party will almost certainly file an appeal.