Mississippi Republican Party asks Court to appoint special master and start drawing lines; Gov. Haley Barbour joins request

Here are the documents:

Mississippi Republican Party's Motion to Appoint Special Master

Mississippi Republican Party's Memorandum in Support of its Motion to Appoint Special Master

Gov. Haley Barbour's Joinder in the Mississippi Republican Party's Motion to Appoint Special Master

Gov. Haley Barbour's Memorandum in Support of the Motion to Appoint Special Master

I haven't had time to delve into these like I should, but here are my off-the-cuff thoughts:

This isn't really a surprise. The Republican strategy all along has been to get the courts to draw the lines. The Motion is based on Federal Rule of Evidence 706, and history suggests this motion will be granted. The question is whether or not the special master will draw the lines himself, as Republicans want, or whether he or she will merely evaluate plans the parties submit. If the Court is looking for a swift conclusion to this matter, it could always utilize the plans that passed the Joint Committee as temporary plans. Those plans are almost guaranteed to gain clearance by the Department of Justice, and are otherwise constitutionally sound. The only thing that prevented those plans from going into effect earlier was strong arming of Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant. All indications are that the vast majority of legislators, both Democrats and Republicans, would be quite happy if the Joint Committee plans were enacted, since they were the ones who drew them in the first place.