BATON ROUGE - The battle over redistricting in Louisiana returns to court on Monday -- the first day of a scheduled 7-day trial that could determine if and when political lines are redrawn for state legislative seats.

The focus this week is expected to be not on the congressional battle lines, but those state ones.

The legal fight over redistricting has been taking place along two fronts -- both matters, landing before U.S. District Court Chief Judge Shelly Dick.

Plaintiffs claim Louisiana has diluted the influence of Black voters through gerrymandered districts for the U.S. House of Representatives, and for state House and Senate seats, as well.

The result, they say, is that Black lawmakers comprise far less than one-third of the House and Senate, though the state is 33 percent Black.

Joining the plaintiffs are civil rights groups, such as the ACLU of Louisiana, against Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin, who has defended the maps drawn up by lawmakers.

Gov. John Bel Edwards vetoed those maps, only to see the legislature override that veto and enact the boundaries. Lawsuits followed.

Since then, a series of rulings has provided "wins" for both sides -- though the activity of late has largely affected the U.S. House maps.

Recently, Judge Dick, of the U.S. District Court based in Baton Rouge, found the current congressional maps do violate the Voting Rights Act.

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals allowed her findings to stand, but enacted a timeline for late 2023 and early 2024 that many believe will allow the defense to "run out the clock."

They fear the proceedings will get bogged down enough to prevent any map revisions from taking place before the fall 2024 elections.

At stake is a possible "flipped seat" in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Currently, 5 of the 6 congressional seats in Louisiana belong to Republicans. If maps are redrawn to create a second "majority minority" district -- which has been at the heart of the legal wranglings -- Democrats would likely be favored to win it.

Republicans now hold a slim 222-213 advantage in the House.