Place: 4274 Chamberlin (refreshments will be served)
Speaker: Bill Whitford, UW Law School
Abstract: Whitford is the lead plaintiff in Gill v. Whitford, which will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 3, 2018 The case raises the question whether the federal courts should interpret the U.S. Constitution to place some limits on the extent of partisan bias in legislative districting. If Whitford and the other plaintiffs win, as they did in the trial court, it will be the first time the federal courts have placed any limits of the extent of partisan bias, and hence create a new precedent. Whitford will explain the context in which case arose and how he and others were able to obtain the services of a team of lawyers and experts that have gotten the case to its present position.