With her re-election prospects diminished in the wake of the Florida Supreme Court's reconfiguration of her district, embattled U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown (D-Jacksonville) on Friday asked a federal court to render the changes unconstitutional.
Brown's district, which she has represented since 1993, stretches from Jacksonville to Orlando. It has been decried by redistricting reformers as a poster child of politically-influenced mapmaking. The Democratic-leaning district's meandering shape has helped Republicans carry neighboring districts by wide margins.
In Friday's hearing before a three-judge panel, however, Brown argued the redesign violates the Federal Voting Rights Act, which mandates that minority communities be able to elect a minority candidate of their choosing whenever possible.
"I want to make sure you have another person that looks, acts and loves you like I do," Brown told a gathering of her supporters at a Tallahassee restaurant after the hearing.
The court did not rule, but said they wanted all additional evidence submitted by mid-April. They want to make a quick ruling because qualifying for congressional candidates is in June.
In addition to the uncertainty surrounding her political career, Brown is also facing a pending investigation by the House Ethics Committee into undefined "fraudulent" activity. The Justice Department has asked the committee not to proceed until its own investigation runs its course.
At a press conference, Brown declined to discuss the dual probes.
"I think it's scary anytime anybody comes and asks you questions, but the point is, if you know the answers to the questions and you have a team of attorneys that's working on it, you let them handle it, period," Brown said.