Supreme Court Says No To Racial Gerrymanders

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, June 13) -- On a pair of 5-4 votes, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down redistricting plans in Texas and North Carolina that boosted the clout of African American and Hispanic voters.

The court said political map-makers cannot use race as the principal consideration in drawing congressional district boundary lines, but also agreed that using race as one factor could be constitutional.

In both states, the high court decided that the redistricting plans were "not narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest."

In all, four congressional districts are affected by the ruling -- the 12th district in North Carolina and the 18th, 29th and 30th districts in Texas.

A Congressional Quarterly profile of the North Carolina's serpent-shaped 12th District says: "The 12th is best described as the mother of all gerrymanders, a congressional district so notorious in its design that it sparked an editorial in The Wall Street Journal..."

Writing for the majority in the Texas case, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said the court's recent holdings on racial gerrymandering demonstrates "a commitment to eliminate unnecessary and excessive government use and reinforcement of racial stereotypes."

But a dissenting Justice John Paul Stevens said the court was "seriously misguided" in its attempt to limit state action designed to accommodate the political concerns of minority groups.

Voting that the plans were unconstitutional were O'Connor, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy and Clarence Thomas. Dissenting were Stevens and Justices David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer.

Supreme Court Says No To Racial Gerrymanders

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