RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina Supreme Court is hearing arguments again in a redistricting case it ruled on three months ago.
A newly formed and now Republican-majority North Carolina Supreme Court listened to a case dealing with district maps Tuesday.
In December, the court ruled the state Senate boundaries, drawn by Republicans, favored Republicans. At the time, the state supreme court was made up of four Democrats and three Republicans.
Now, the court that's rehearing the case has a 5-2 Republican majority.
Justice said this is only the third time in the past 30 years a rehearing was granted.
Republican legislative leaders requested the rehearing, claiming the previous opinion showed the court overlooked facts or laws.
It's not clear when they might rule on this case or what could happen if the court overturns the previous ruling.
"I think that there are a lot of questions about whether or not the court did the right thing last year and hopefully this court can rectify that," Republican Senate Leader Phil Berger, a defendant in the case, said.
Associate Justice Anita Earls, a Democrat, wrote the dissenting opinion against rehearing the case.
She said the GOP majority's "display of raw partisanship calls into question the impartiality of the courts."
Governor Cooper and Attorney General Stein, both Democrats are now urging the court to leave rulings from last February to December.
In a statement, Cooper wrote, "Nothing has changed in this case but the partisan composition of the Court. The meaning of our Constitution does not change when the justices do."