Virginia House Avoids $4 Million in Fees Over Redistricting

The Virginia House of Delegates and its former speaker intervened to defend unconstitutional voting districts they drew after the 2010 census, but aren’t liable for any part of the over $4 million in fees to which the plaintiffs are entitled after winning their suit, a federal court said.

Under U.S. Supreme Court and Fourth Circuit precedent, fee awards can only be granted against defendants who have been found liable on the merits of the case, unless the intervenors’ actions were frivolous, the opinion by Fourth Circuit Judge Barbara Milano Keenan said for a voting rights panel of the U.S. District ...