The US Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed [order, PDF] an order to redraw certain North Carolina congressional districts.

The US District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina invalidated [PDF] several districts in the state last fall. The districts in question had already been redrawn following a previous order from the same court. This time, the court held that the new districts did not fully remedy the constitutional issues.

The North Carolina legislators who were defendants in the case filed a motion [text, PDF] to stay the decision while an appeal on the merits of the case proceeds through the courts. Chief Justice John Roberts had the option to grant or deny the motion himself, but he referred the decision to the whole court. Two justices would have denied the stay in full. Two would have granted it in full. Instead, the order was stayed only as to five districts in the states two most populous counties.