Leach Op-Ed: Speaker Smith's Lawsuit on 2001 District Lines is Frivolous

KING OF PRUSSIA, Jan. 31, 2012 - Speaker of the House Sam Smith and his Republican colleagues have frequently spoken about the need to end “frivolous lawsuits.” However, this disdain for meritless litigation apparently does not extend to Smith’s attempt to rescue his party’s ability to gerrymander legislative districts.

Speaker Smith filed a lawsuit in Federal Court asserting that the U.S. Supreme Court’s “one-man-one-vote” doctrine, spelled out in the leading cases of Baker v. Carr, Reynolds v. Simms and their progeny, prohibits use of the 2001 lines because there are now significant population deviations between districts. However, the Supreme Court and lower courts that have dealt with this issue have said no such thing. » Read More

Leach: Bipartisan Meeting Addresses Chester-Upland Crisis

HARRISBURG, January 23, 2011 — Senator Daylin Leach, (D-Delaware/Montgomery) announced this morning that a bipartisan and bicameral group of legislators met with Governor Corbett and Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Ron Tomalis to address the potential closure of the schools in the Chester-Upland School District. Gov. Corbett arranged the meeting after receiving a request to meet in a letter written by Leach and signed by nine Delaware County lawmakers. » Read More