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Florida Legislature Defends New Districts

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TALLAHASSEE (AP) — The Florida Legislature is sharply defending a new Congressional map it drew up during an August special session.

Attorneys for the Republican-controlled Legislature on Friday turned in a lengthy legal brief to the Florida Supreme Court. The court is scheduled next year to decide whether congressional districts drawn by legislators meet new standards approved by voters in 2010.

Judge Terry Lewis ruled in July there was enough evidence to show that consultants helped manipulate the process and ruled that two out of the state's 27 districts were invalid. Legislators responded by drawing a new map this summer.

The court filing from the Legislature asserts that the new standards approved by voters are invalid. But attorneys also assert that there is no evidence to show consultants influenced what legislators adopted.

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