The state Department of Justice has dropped its appeal of a court-ordered redistricting plan for two state Assembly districts and has agreed to pay the plaintiffs’ attorneys $185,000 in legal bills.

The lawsuit was brought by Democrats and others challenging the constitutionality of the state’s election maps recently drawn by the Republican-controlled Legislature.

In March, a three-judge panel issued an opinion saying the legislative district maps violated the Voting Rights Act by diluting the vote of the Latino community. The panel ordered that the two Assembly districts, 8 and 9, be redrawn.

The Legislature declined to redraw the districts, so the court accepted a map drawn by the Democrats and plaintiff Voces de la Frontera, an immigration advocacy group.
The DOJ’s decision to drop its appeal means that the state’s voting district maps for the next 10 years are now final.