Arizona panel wants delay for redistricting case

Arizona’s redistricting commission says a federal court should put a Republican-backed lawsuit challenging new legislative districts on hold until state courts resolve related issues.

The commission’s motion says recent papers by the challengers make clear that their case largely depends on interpretations of state law, not just the federal one-person, one-vote rule.

At issue in the case is whether the commission should have done a better job of creating districts with populations of about the same size.

A three-judge federal court panel considering the case has said the case needs to go to trial March 25 and be resolved in time to avoid affecting 2014 elections.

The commission says the case still can be resolved in time even with waiting for state court rulings on issues related to population variances.