The clock's ticking on responses in NAACP v. Barbour, et al

Well, things got moving quickly this morning with Judge Dan Jordan recusing himself from the NAACP v. Barbour redistricting lawsuit. Apparently he has a relative who will be running for the legislature this November.

Enter Judge Carlton Reeves. Judge Reeves held a telephonic hearing earlier this afternoon, and the minute entry from said hearing is as follows:

Minute Entry for proceedings held before District Judge Carlton W. Reeves. Telephone Conference held on 3/30/2011. The parties are to respond to the Motion to Intervene by noon on 3/31/2011. The parties were also advised to file any answers or additional pleadings relating to this matter by noon on 3/31/2011. A text order will follow. (JS) (Entered: 03/30/2011)

Judge Reeves is getting ready to rule on two things:

First, he's going to rule on the Motion to Intervene by the House Apportionment Committee. That's likely to be granted, as no one has objected to the intervention.

Second, and of utmost importance, Judge Reeves is about to rule on the Motion for Preliminary Injunction that would prevent elections from being held this November in the current districts. Due to the fact that both the Mississippi Democratic Party and the Mississippi Republican Party have already agreed that an injunction is proper at this point, this injunction will most likely be granted. (See paragraph 78 of the MS Democratic Party's Answer and paragraph 77 of the MS Republican Party's Answer, both of which are linked below.) If you are Senators Briggs Hopson, Buck Clarke, Nolan Mettetal, Lydia Chassaniol or Ezell Lee, this is not welcome news.

Here are links to documents referenced above and others that are interesting:

Answer of the Mississippi Democratic Party

Answer of the Mississippi Republican Party

Motion to Intervene by the House Apportionment Committee

Memo in Support of the House Apportionment Committee's Motion to Intervene

Proposed Answer of the House Apportionment Committee