Responding to a Florida Independent report about a motion filed by the ACLU of Florida to join the state in defending Amendment 6, the office of newly inaugurated Attorney General Pam Bondi says it is still reviewing its options in the case, and will make its intentions known when it files a response early next week. #
The ACLU filed the motion to help defend Amendment 6 in the suit brought by Reps. Corrine Brown, D-Jacksonville, and Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Miami, because it says its “interests are not adequately represented by existing parties.” #
The lawyer representing the ACLU in the matter, Randall C. Marshall, says that’s not a criticism of Florida’s new attorney general, just a reflection of the ACLU’s desire to ensure that Amendment 6 remains enshrined in the state Constitution. #
Speaking with The Florida Independent, a spokesperson for Bondi said that the attorney general’s office is still weighing its options in the case, including whether it will support the ACLU’s intervention as co-defendants. Bondi must file a response to the lawsuit by next Tues., Jan. 11. #
When asked whether Bondi’s opposition to Amendments 5 and 6 — the so-called “Fair Districts” amendments that limit the legislature’s ability to gerrymander districts — during her campaign would affect her decision-making in the case, her spokesperson said that Bondi would make her decision based on the legal issues at hand, not on any personal views of the amendments’ merit. #
