[Magdalen] today's SUPREMES NYTimes

[Mahoney, W. Michael]

>
>  He asked no questions of the lawyer representing the Democratic voters
> challenging the map.
>

That lawyer, Paul Smith, is a neighbor and (casual) friend.  And a nice guy.

I asked him about this case a few weeks ago while in a buffet line at a
fund-raiser.  He said, "Pray for me,"

A problem with gerrymandering is that while it can be easy to see what is
unfair, it's not so easy to see what is fair.  For example, if the
population in a state were wholly homogeneous with respect to party
affiliation, then no matter how the districts were drawn the dominant party
would win all the districts, even if the ratio were 51/49.

And, in some states, the practical equivalent of gerrymandering is
necessary if one wants to assure minority representation among elected
legislators.

Mike M.