Associate Dean Amar Publishes Op-ed on Supreme Court Redistricting Case

Vikram Amar, Associate Dean and Professor of Law at UC Davis School of Law, published an op-ed in the Daily Journal  regarding Arizona Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, the U.S. Supreme Court challenge to an Arizona initiative which gave the job of creating congressional districts to an independent redistricting commission (IRC) rather than the elected legislature. The Arizona legislature is arguing that the Elections Clause of the Constitution prevents a state from divesting its legislature of district-drawing power. 

Amar writes that, among other reasons for upholding the initiative, the Supreme Court previously has upheld the use of the referendum to regulate electoral processes in cases like Ohio ex. rel. Davis v. Hildebrant, and Congress has made it clear via a federal statute that the referendum should be treated as part of the state's legislative power for the purposes of the Elections Clause.

Vikram Amar, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Law with the UC Davis School of Law, is a national authority in the fields of constitutional law, civil procedure, criminal procedure, and remedies. His biweekly column for Justia.com, a leading provider of online legal information, centers on his expertise in constitutional law.