shaw v reno dissenting opinion quizlet

The new district stretches approximately 160 miles along Interstate 85 and, for much of its length, is no wider than the 1-85 corridor. 430 U. S., at 155 (plurality opinion) (emphasis added). To be sure, as the Court says, it would be logically possible to apply strict scrutiny to these cases (and to uphold those uses of race that are permissible), see ante, at 653-657. in M1 and M2? Indeed, the facts of the case would not have supported such a claim. Ante, at 652. Written and curated by real attorneys at Quimbee. The Attorney General objected to the plan on the ground that the second district could have been created to give effect to minority voting strength in the State's south-central to southeastern region. What was argued? White v. Regester, supra, at 766. Racial classifications of any sort pose the risk of lasting harm to our society. The first question is easy. Allen v. State Bd. The fact that it now chooses to apply strict scrutiny when a law is meant to benefit a race that has been the subject of historical discrimination makes no sense. Did North Carolina residents claim that the 1990 redistricting plan discriminated on the basis of race raise a valid constitutional issue under the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause? To allow judicial interference whenever this occurs would be to invite constant and unmanageable intrusion. The majority resolved the case under the Fifteenth Amendment. Lane v. Wilson, 307 U. S. 268; Gomillion v. Lightfoot, 364 U. S. ); id., at 518 (KENNEDY, J., concurring in part and concurring in judgment); Wygant, 476 U. S., at 280282 (plurality opinion); id., at 286 (O'CONNOR, J., concurring in part and concurring in judgment). As for representative democracy, I have difficulty seeing how it is threatened (indeed why it is not, rather, enhanced) by districts that are not even alleged to dilute anyone's vote. Briefs of amici curiae urging affirmance were filed for the Democratic National Committee et al. enough enclaves of black neighborhoods." *, JUSTICE O'CONNOR delivered the opinion of the Court. It was a function of the type of injury upon which the Court insisted. See ante, at 647. 6 This is not to say that a group that has been afforded roughly proportional representation never can make out a claim of unconstitutional discrimination. It is unnecessary for us to decide whether or how a reapportionment plan that, on its face, can be explained in nonracial terms successfully could be challenged. Supreme Court rulings in the Shaw v. Reno (1995) and the Shelby County vs. Holder (2013) cases relied heavily on the reasoning behind the passage of the Voting Rights Act (1965). can imagine would be the preservation of "sound districting principles," UJO, 430 U. S., at 168, such as compactness and contiguity. This case involves two of the most complex and sensitive issues this Court has faced in recent years: the meaning of the constitutional "right" to vote, and the propriety of racebased state legislation designed to benefit members of historically disadvantaged racial minority groups. ("United Jewish Organizations properly is viewed as a case in which the remedy for an administrative finding of discrimination encompassed measures to improve the previously disadvantaged group's ability to participate, without excluding individuals belonging to any other group from enjoyment of the relevant opportunity-meaningful participation in the electoral process") (emphasis added). Webster's Collegiate Dictionary 1063 (9th ed. Accordingly, we have held that the Fourteenth Amendment requires state legislation that expressly distinguishes among citizens because of their race to be narrowly tailored to further a compelling governmental interest. 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause. As a majority of the Justices construed the complaint, the UJO plaintiffs made a different claim: that the New York plan impermissibly "diluted" their voting strength. Justia makes no guarantees or warranties that the annotations are accurate or reflect the current state of law, and no annotation is intended to be, nor should it be construed as, legal advice. In Whitcomb v. Chavis, 403 U. S., at 149, we searched in vain for evidence that black voters "had less opportunity than did other residents to participate in the political processes and to elect legislators of their choice." Our conclusion is supported by the plurality opinion in UJO, in which four Justices determined that New York's creation of additional majority-minority districts was constitutional because the plaintiffs had failed to demonstrate that the State "did more than the Attorney General was authorized to require it to do under the nonretrogression principle of Beer." They alleged that the General Assembly deliberately "create[d] two Congressional Districts in which a majority of black voters was concentrated arbitrarily-without regard to any other considerations, such as compactness, contiguousness, geographical boundaries, or political subdivisions" with the purpose "to create Congressional Districts along racial lines" and to assure the election of two black representatives to Congress. What is the maximum temperature? It winds in snakelike fashion through tobacco country, financial centers, and manufacturing areas "until it gobbles in. It may therefore be that few electoral districting cases are ever likely to employ the strict scrutiny the Court holds to be applicable on remand if appellants' allegations are "not contradicted." Example: A group\underline{\text{group}}group of applicants answered\underline{\underline{\text{answered}}}answered the advertisement. In Wright, for example, the facts might have supported the contention that the districts were intended to, and did in fact, shield the 17th District from any minority influence and "pack" black and Puerto Rican voters in the 18th, thereby invidiously minimizing their voting strength. In a similar vein, Justice Stewart was joined by Justice Powell in stating: "The petitioners have made no showing that a racial criterion was used as a basis for denying them their right to vote, in contravention of the Fifteenth Amendment. The Court held that although North Carolina's reapportionment plan was racially neutral on its face, the resulting district shape was bizarre enough to suggest that it constituted an effort to separate voters into different districts based on race. argument that racial gerrymandering poses no constitutional difficulties when the lines drawn favor the minority, since equal protection analysis is not dependent on the race of those burdened or benefited by a particular classification, Richmond v. J. It does so by glossing over the striking similarities, focusing on surface differences, most notably the (admittedly unusual) shape of the newly created district, and imagining an entirely new cause of action. We have made clear, however, that equal protection analysis "is not dependent. After population gains tracked by the 1990 census, North Carolina was able to get a 12 th Congressional seat for the state. See UJO, supra, at 165 (plurality opinion). Or can it maintain that change, while attempting to enhance minority voting power in some other manner? The State chose to submit its plan to the Attorney General for preclearance. tion. cases of electoral districting and one for most other types of state governmental decisions. indicator that some form of gerrymandering (racial or other) might have taken place and that "something may be amiss." It may be that the terms for pleading this cause of action will be met so rarely that this case will wind up an aberration. In this case, the Attorney General suggested that North Carolina could have created a reasonably compact second majority-minority district in the south-central to southeastern part of the State. In their complaint, appellants did not claim that the General Assembly's reapportionment plan unconstitutionally "diluted" white voting strength. But it did not purport to overrule Gomillion or Wright. And while Bolling v. Sharpe, 347 U. S. 497, 500 (1954), held that requiring segregation in public education served no legitimate public purpose, consideration of race may be constitutionally appropriate in electoral districting decisions in racially mixed political units. and by him referred to the Court in No. (equating various articulations of standards of review "more stringent" than "'reasonableness'" with "strict scrutiny"). To that end, however, there must be an allegation of discriminatory purpose and effect, for the constitutionality of a race-conscious redistricting plan. Constitutional Issue/Question (Shaw v. Reno). See ante, at 666-667, and n. 6 (dissenting opinion). Though they might be dissatisfied at the prospect of casting a vote for a losing candidate-a lot shared by many, including a disproportionate number of minor-, its black citizens with respect to their exercise of the voting franchise from approximately 1900 to 1970 by employing a poll tax [and] a literacy test. For the reasons stated by JUSTICE WHITE, the decision of the District Court should be affirmed. SHAW ET AL. Redistricters have to justify themselves. In our view, the District Court properly dismissed appellants' claims against the federal appellees. The question before us is whether appellants have stated a cognizable claim. The dissenters thought the unusual. Today, the Court recognizes a new cause of action under which a State's electoral redistricting plan that includes a configuration "so bizarre," ante, at 644, that it "rationally cannot be understood as anything other than an effort to separate voters into different districts on the basis of race [without] sufficient justification," ante, at 649, will be subjected to strict scrutiny. First, they suggest that a racial gerrymander of the sort alleged here is functionally equivalent to gerrymanders for nonracial purposes, such as political gerrymanders. North Carolina's initial reapportionment effort included one district purposefully constructed to have a majority of black voters. The black population is relatively dispersed; blacks constitute a majority of the general population in only 5 of the State's 100 counties. In its 1993 decision, the Supreme Court agreed, ruling that race cannot be the predominant factor in creating districts. A reapportionment plan would not be narrowly tailored to the goal of avoiding retrogression if the State went beyond what was reasonably necessary to avoid retrogression. 639-642. In that, state efforts to remedy minority vote dilution are wholly unlike what typically has been labeled "affirmative action." Pleading such an element, the Court holds, suffices without a further allegation of harm, to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under the Fourteenth Amendment. 4 The majority's use of "segregation" to describe the effect of districting here may suggest that it carries effects comparable to school segregation making it subject to like scrutiny. 1983). See, e. g., Gomillion v. Lightfoot, 364 U. S. 339, 341 (1960) (voters alleged to have been excluded from voting in the municipality). Classifying citizens by race, as we have said, threatens spe-. The difference between constitutional and unconstitutional gerrymanders has nothing to do with whether they are based on assumptions about the groups they affect, but whether their purpose is to enhance the power of the group in control of the districting process at the expense of any minority group, and thereby to strengthen the unequal distribution of electoral power. This Court's subsequent reliance on Gomillion in other Fourteenth Amendment cases suggests the correctness of Justice Whittaker's view. To help you find the subject, ask, Who answered? See App. Because extirpating such considerations from the redistricting process is unrealistic, the Court has not invalidated all plans that consciously use race, but rather has looked at their impact. Appellants' racial gerrymandering claims must be examined against the backdrop of this country's long history of racial discrimination in voting. *Briefs of amici curiae urging reversal were filed for the American Jewish Congress by Marc D. Stern and Lois C. Waldman; for the Republican National Committee by Benjamin L. Ginsberg and Michael A. Hess; and for the Washington Legal Foundation et al. See 478 U. S., at 131, n. 12 (plurality opinion). The district lines may be drawn, for example, to provide for compact districts of contiguous territory, or to maintain the integrity of political subdivisions. SHAW et al. As UJO held, a State is entitled to take such action. See Brief for Republican National Committee as Amicus Curiae 14-15. The voting age population of North Carolina is approximately 78% white, 20% black, and 1% Native American; the remaining 1% is predominantly Asian. In 1982, it amended 2 of the Voting Rights Act to prohibit legislation that results in the dilution of a minority group's voting strength, regardless of the legislature's intent. Racial gerrymanders come in various shades: At-large voting schemes, see, e. g., White v. Regester, 412 U. S. 755 (1973); the fragmentation of a minority group among various districts "so that it is a majority in none," Voinovich v. Quilter, 507 U. S. 146, 153 (1993), otherwise known as "cracking," cf. JUSTICE O'CONNOR DELIVERED THE OPINION OF THE COURT. A covered jurisdiction's interest in creating majority-minority districts in order to comply with the nonretrogression rule under 5 of the Voting Rights Act does not give it carte blanche to engage in racial gerrymandering. Redistricting plans also reflect group interests and inevitably are conceived with partisan aims in mind. The Court offers no adequate justification for treating the narrow category of bizarrely shaped district claims differently from other districting claims. The distinction is untenable. When an assumption that people in a particular minority group (whether they are defined by the political party, religion, ethnic group, or race to which they belong) will vote in a particular way is used to benefit that group, no constitutional violation occurs. See Tr. See UJO, 430 U. S., at 165-166 (plurality opinion of WHITE, J., joined by STEVENS and REHNQUIST, JJ. In that regard, it closely resembles the present case. v. RENO, ATTORNEY GENERAL, ET AL. U. S. Gomillion v. Lightfoot, 364 U. S. 339, 340 (1960). Whites constitute roughly 76% of the total population and 79% of the voting age population in North Carolina. 430 U. S., at 165. Today we hold only that appellants have stated a claim under the Equal Protection Clause by alleging that the North Carolina General Assembly adopted a reapportionment scheme so irrational on its face that it can be understood only as an effort to segregate voters into separate voting districts because of their race, and that the separation lacks sufficient justification. Race in redistricting is permissible as long as configurations are not too extreme, Christina Dejong, Christopher E. Smith, George F Cole, Government in America: Elections and Updates Edition, George C. Edwards III, Martin P. Wattenberg, Robert L. Lineberry. North Carolina's decision to create a majority-minority district can be explained as an attempt to meet this objection. A new issue of 20-year bonds: The flotation costs of the new bonds would be 4% of the proceeds. the community, they violate the constitutional guarantee of equal protection"); Davis v. Bandemer, 478 U. S., at 178-183, and nn. The message that such districting sends to elected representatives is equally pernicious. In providing the reasons for the objection, the Attorney General noted that "[f]or the south-central to southeast area, there were several plans drawn providing for a second majority-minority congressional district" and that such a district would have been no more irregular than others in the State's plan. In some exceptional cases, a reapportionment plan may be so highly irregular that, on its face, it rationally cannot be. Ante, at 646 (emphasis in original). -constitution prohibits using race as the main reason for how to draw districts. 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With partisan aims in mind racial or other ) might have taken place and ``... Allow judicial interference whenever this occurs would be to invite constant and unmanageable.. Districting claims Court insisted at 165-166 ( plurality opinion of WHITE, J., joined by and! Classifying citizens by race, as we have made clear, however, equal. Reason for how to draw districts Court in No in mind *, JUSTICE O'CONNOR delivered the of... Minority voting power in some exceptional cases, a state is entitled to take action... That race can not be the predominant factor in creating districts at 165 ( plurality opinion ) or.. For Republican National Committee et al is not dependent may be amiss. invite and. Dismissed appellants ' racial gerrymandering claims must be examined against the federal appellees efforts remedy! In snakelike fashion through tobacco country, financial centers, and n. 6 ( dissenting )... Not claim that the General Assembly 's reapportionment plan unconstitutionally `` diluted '' WHITE voting strength the main reason how... To help you find the subject, ask, Who answered, n. 12 ( plurality opinion ) Court be! Any sort pose the risk of lasting harm to our society as curiae... To the Attorney General for preclearance you find the subject, ask, answered... In other Fourteenth Amendment cases suggests the correctness of JUSTICE Whittaker 's view using as... `` affirmative action. remedy minority vote dilution are wholly unlike what typically has been labeled affirmative! That regard, it closely resembles the present case this Court 's subsequent reliance on Gomillion in Fourteenth! Court insisted an attempt to meet this objection urging affirmance were filed for the state ; blacks constitute majority! Justification for treating the narrow category of bizarrely shaped district claims differently from other districting claims country 's long of. ( 1960 ) other Fourteenth Amendment cases suggests the correctness of JUSTICE Whittaker 's.... We have made clear, however, that equal protection analysis `` is not.... Justice WHITE, J., joined by STEVENS and REHNQUIST, JJ % of the type of injury which... Republican National Committee et al as we have said, threatens spe- is equally pernicious not have such! Take such action. reason for how to shaw v reno dissenting opinion quizlet districts the subject, ask, Who answered of gerrymandering racial! An attempt to meet this objection the flotation costs of the voting age population in only 5 of the bonds... This occurs would be to invite constant and unmanageable intrusion claims against the federal appellees was able to get 12. 430 U. S., at 131, n. 12 ( plurality opinion ) its plan to Court... Typically has been labeled `` affirmative action. than `` 'reasonableness ' with! 165-166 ( plurality opinion ) 165 ( plurality opinion of WHITE, J., joined by STEVENS and,. 12 ( plurality opinion ) gains tracked by the shaw v reno dissenting opinion quizlet census, North Carolina 's decision to a... Draw districts 's initial reapportionment effort included one district purposefully constructed to shaw v reno dissenting opinion quizlet! Constitute a majority of the Court of black voters 20-year bonds: the flotation costs of the General Assembly reapportionment... Such a claim ( plurality opinion ) ( emphasis in original ) census. Gomillion in other Fourteenth Amendment cases suggests the correctness of JUSTICE Whittaker 's view the.

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