Is Federal Congressional Redistricting in Maryland Governed by Article III, Section 4 of the State Constitution? An Analysis of the Trial Court Decision in Szeliga v. Lamone

Dan Friedman & Barnett Harris

In Szeliga v. Lamone, a state trial court determined for the first time that Article III, Section 4 of the Maryland Constitution applies to restrict the Maryland General Assembly’s power to adopt a plan of congressional redistricting. Using theories of constitutional interpretation including textualism, originalism, comparative constitutional law, and common law constitutional interpretation, we reject the trial court’s interpretation. Instead, we suggest better techniques for interpreting the state constitution and perhaps for combating excessive partisan gerrymandering.