Judge won’t recuse himself from Arkansas redistricting case

STATE NEWS (cont.)

School District announced that there would be no onsite instruction, after-school activities or athletic events at its campuses on Friday and Monday. The district joins Little Rock and Pulaski County special school districts in shifting to virtual because of the spike in cases fueled by the highly contagious omicron variant.

The state announced 7,787 new cases of the virus Thursday, the third day in a row it’s reached a new oneday record in cases. The actual number of cases is likely higher due to people testing at home or who are infected and not getting tested.

The state’s COVID-19 deaths increased by 22 to 9,278 since the pandemic.

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 increased by 73 to 892.

The Arkansas National Guard announced that 40 Guard members would deploy next week to nine hospitals in eight cities around the state to assist with COVID-19 testing.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced the deployments Tuesday in response to increased demand for testing.

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LITTLE ROCK — A federal judge says he won’t recuse himself from hearing a lawsuit challenging Arkansas’ new state House maps, rejecting complaints from groups who cited his connections to the state’s Republican attorney general and governor.

U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky on Wednesday denied the motion to recuse by the Arkansas Public Policy Panel and the Arkansas State Conference NAACP. The groups have asked the judge to block the new state House maps, saying they dilute the strength of Black voters in Arkansas.

The groups cited campaign contributions Rudofsky made to Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, who along with Secretary of State John Thurston comprise the panel in charge of state legislative redistricting.

They also cited Rudofsky’s past work as solicitor general in Rutledge’s office.

Rudofsky said his impartiality couldn’t be reasonably questioned in the case and said he’s never discussed anything related to the redistricting plan with Rutledge.

Rudofsky earlier this week set a Jan. 27 hearing on the groups’ motion for a preliminary injunction against the redistricting map.