Congressional Whoopsie

This week, we discussed amicus briefs.  We also talked about ways in which lawmakers sometimes goof up.  They seldom goof up on amicus briefs, but ... stuff happens.  In Raleigh, NC, The News and Observer reports:

Two of the three North Carolina lawmakers who had joined with prominent national politicians to oppose gerrymandering have now backtracked, saying they didn’t mean to add their names on an anti-gerrymandering letter sent to the Supreme Court.

Rep. Mark Meadows and Rep. Walter Jones, both Republicans, signed on to the legal brief along with Democratic Rep. David Price.

Meadows blamed an “error” and Jones blamed “miscommunication” for their participation. Meadows also made a point to say he supports the N.C. General Assembly, which is in charge of drawing the state’s lines for its members of Congress.

Price, at least, understood the brief. Before his election to Congress, he was a political scientist at Duke and a leading scholar of the legislative branch.