There is so much to say about LULAC v. Abbott , the recent gerrymandering case decided by a three judge panel of the Western District of Texas. Indeed, it has taken me a few days to process everything.

First, this three-judge panel was constituted back in 2021. Due to long-running litigation over Texas's 2021 maps, this panel maintained jurisdiction over the new 2025 maps. The plaintiffs chose to file in the Western District of Texas, El Paso Division, where they were virtually assured of not drawing a conservative judge. And they drew Judge David Guaderrama, an Obama nominee. Then-Chief Judge Priscilla (Owen) Richman, not the current Chief Judge, Jennifer Walker Elrod, appointed the other two members of the panel: District Judge Jeffrey Brown and Circuit Judge Jerry Smith.

Second, virtu

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