In 2012, five plaintiffs from Koreatown filed a lawsuit against the L.A. City Council because they believed that the council members unfairly divided the Koreatown community into two different council districts rather than keeping Koreatown in one council district, creating a disadvantage to their voting power. The L.A. City Redistricting Commission, which drew the new districts of the city, has been accused of gerrymandering, or deliberately manipulating boundaries to favor a specific interest group. The lawsuit asks the court to prevent these new district lines from “going into effect in any elections, and for the court to appoint a special master to draw new boundaries,” according to a report from the Los Angeles Daily News.
The L.A. City Council requested that the Judge simply dismiss the trial altogether in its recent motion for summary judgment, a legal term to describe pre-trial requests for a judge to hear strong evidence for a party’s argument before the actual trial. If the evidence is strong and the Judge agrees with a particular party, the Judge may support that party even without the trial itself.
However, after having finally received a court trial date when the lawsuit itself was filed two years ago, Koreatown activists are not willing to give that up so easily.
Koreatown's leading advocates gathered at a press conference on Monday to stress the importance of the community's involvement in the issue of redrawing the district maps to include Koreatown in one council district. (Row in back, from left to right: Pastor Peter Park, David Ryu, and Alex Cha. Row in front, from left to right: Grace Yoo, Robert Kang, and Hyepin Im.)
“We’ll fight [this case] all the way,” said Grace Yoo, executive director of the Korean American Coalition in Los Angeles (KAC-LA).
“The city has diluted and negatively impacted the voting power of Koreatown residents by unnecessarily, unlawfully, and unconstitutionally dividing their community into two separate districts,” the lawsuit states.
John Karaczynski, a partner in charge of the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, said that city and federal law “prohibit precisely the type of racially motivated redistricting the city is seeking to implement.”
If the city’s summary judgment motion results in a loss, the trial scheduled for October would stand. If, however, the city wins the motion, Judge Marshall would dismiss the case.
Meanwhile, the Koreatown plaintiffs made their own motion for summary judgment, in which they requested to seek a referendum. The referendum would require the gathering of voter signatures to demand that a redrawing request be included in the next voter ballot. If the Koreatown plaintiffs win their motion for summary judgment, their request to seek a referendum would be granted. If the Koreatown plaintiffs lose the motion, their request would be denied, and the trial in October may or may not go forward depending on the Judge’s decision on the city council’s summary judgment motion.
Both motions for summary judgment will be heard by U.S. District Court Judge Marshall at the United States Courthouse on September 9th at 10 A.M.
The Koreatown plaintiffs, who are being legally represented by the law firms Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLD and Bird, Marella, Boxer, Wolpert, Nessim, Drooks & Lincenberg, P.C. pro bono, are planning to appeal the case to an appellate court if the Judge decides to dismiss the case.
“The city must hear the voice of the community,” said Hyepin Im, the president and CEO of Korean Churches for Community Development (KCCD). “Koreatown has one of the greatest and loudest voices in the city of Los Angeles, but our voice is being ignored.”
“This is not even about winning or losing—it’s about proving a point,” added David Ryu, who is currently campaigning to be the Councilmember of the 4th Council District in Los Angeles. “It’s an issue of fairness, and hearing the voice of the people. Isn’t that what a democracy is for? Decisions should be made of the people, for the people, by the people.”
In a press conference, Koreatown’s advocacy leaders called on the Koreatown residents to take action on this issue. Those who are interested were encouraged to come to the Federal Courthouse on the 9th, as the hearing will be open to the public. The plaintiffs are also in need of financial help, as the expenses are estimated to total $100,000, but the plaintiffs have only raised $40,000 thus far.
Pastor Peter Park, the executive director of the Koreatown Multipurpose Senior Center, said that efforts and participation from church leaders are of particular importance because when pastors and church leaders participate in political issues, there is a greater likelihood for their input to be heard.
Im added that prayers are of utmost importance and need, explaining that this is not only a legal or political battle, but that it is also a spiritual battle.
More information on the redistricting lawsuit can be found at: www.KACLA.org/Redistricting.html.
