0000041724 00000 n 478 U.S. 30 (1986). The district in question in this case is long and snaking, following along a highway. The state revised its map and submitted a new plan, this one with two majority-minority districts. alter the basic ground rules of 'one person, one vote'." This alleged . [26] Using the Shaw v. Reno decision, the justices decided that using racial reasons for redistricting is unconstitutional. In districting, by contrast, the mere placement of an individual in one district instead of another denies no one a right or benefit provided to others. 0000007872 00000 n https://www.thoughtco.com/shaw-v-reno-4768502 (accessed May 1, 2023). 0000002745 00000 n 0000003285 00000 n record for APSA, issues also include Association News, governance It is for these reasons that race-based districting by our state legislatures demands close judicial scrutiny. <>stream [13], Janet Reno (appellant) was the 78th Attorney General, appointed by President Clinton.[14]. H|m0( Its coverage has The VRA required an increase in the representation of minority groups. As a result of the 1990 census, North Carolina gained one congressional seat, increasing its House membership to twelve and requiring the state legislature to redraw the state's congressional districts. Justice O'Connor, on behalf of the majority, found that redistricting plans could take race into account in order to comply with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, but race could not be the sole or predominant factor when drawing a district. [9] Some of these methods included poll taxes, which many could not afford, literacy tests, that many could not pass, and grandfather clauses, which stated that one can only vote if their grandfather voted. What appellants object to is redistricting legislation that is so extremely irregular on its face that it rationally can be viewed only as an effort to segregate the races for purposes of voting, without regard for traditional districting principles and without sufficiently compelling justification. Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969), New York Times Co. v. United States (1971), Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010). The case of Shaw v. Reno is significant because it created limitations on racial gerrymandering. An understanding of the nature of appellants' claim is critical to our resolution of the case. <>stream There are many discrepancies that each judge must take into account when using Shaw v. Reno as a precedent. Shaw v. Reno (1993) United States v. Lopez (1995) McDonald v. Chicago (2010) Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) Why These Cases? Village of Arlington Heights v. Metropolitan Housing Development Corp. Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, Crawford v. Los Angeles Board of Education, Board of Education of Oklahoma City v. Dowell, Northeastern Fla. Chapter, Associated Gen. The Voting Rights Act prohibited many of the tactics that hindered Black voters from getting their voices heard. They alleged that the district lines were so dramatically irregular that they constituted an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. research in colleges and universities in the U.S. and abroad, one-fourth work Political Science & Politics. Shaw's group claimed that drawing districts based on race violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This was due to the establishment of the Fourteenth Amendment, which granted citizenship and equal rights to all African-Americans. E[*]/axzn2c}X~:FNokA7 hg= Nd Between 1962-1964, the Warren Court created a law known as "one person, one vote" as a right protected under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. 0000002471 00000 n society for individuals engaged in the study of politics and government. This was a previous problem that discriminated against the minority voters however, the White residents thought it was hindering their voices racially. "Shaw v. Reno: Supreme Court Case, Arguments, Impact." If the allegation of racial gerrymandering remains uncontradicted, the District Court further must determine whether the North Carolina plan is narrowly tailored to further a compelling governmental interest. 10301, 10303 (f). To log in and use all the features of Khan Academy, please enable JavaScript in your browser. 4H-?JXeHxG% . In this unanimous decision, it was decided that districts did indeed dilute Black votes and therefore did violate the Voting Rights Act. This item is part of a JSTOR Collection. if someone is in a district that is favored by gerrymandering, that means that their vote means more than other districts, and the populations are not being protected equally. <>/MediaBox[0 0 612 792]/Parent 63 0 R/Resources<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageC]/XObject<>>>/Rotate 0/Type/Page>> Did the North Carolina voters raise a valid Equal Protection claim that the State created a racially gerrymandered congressional district? [19] It was also argued that the racial gerrymandering hindered the voters from having a blind process of voting. The North Carolina General Assembly submitted the plan to the U.S. Attorney General for preclearance under the Voting Rights Act, but it was rejected by the US Department of Justice which was led by Attorney General Janet Reno. HSm0@7p(pF 2B Vf$S'16}x;IDI+_UH1K=,a*}# !N5tt o(VbnPNPo>_tl`!| -E(:CQ TiNlGhWIz64^c{*25Ys,o%6Ai95m=[hv/Ak fasl|`  The second district was strangely shaped to incorporate as many black voters as possible. PS: Political Science and Politics It had good intentions to let a black person be a representative, but because it was drawn to separate people by race it was voted against. If you're behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains *.kastatic.org and *.kasandbox.org are unblocked. 66 39 A district court dismissed the claims against the federal government and the state. 83 0 obj Many of these cases are controversial or were decided 5-4. These principles apply not only to legislation that contains explicit racial distinctions, but also to those "rare" statutes that, although race-neutral, are, on their face, "unexplainable on grounds other than race." The facts of this case mirror those presented inUnited Jewish Organizations of Williamsburgh, Inc. v. Carey(1977) (UJO), where the Court rejected a claim that creation of a majority-minority district violated the Constitution, either as aper sematter or in light of the circumstances leading to the creation of such a district. 52 U.S.C. Course: AP/College US Government and Politics, Interactions among branches of government. 0000030385 00000 n After the 1990 census, the North Carolina General Assembly was entitled to a 12th seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and redrew its congressional districts to account for the changes in population. However, the phrasing of irregularly drawn districts has left room for much interpretation, letting judges use their opinions rather than relying on Shaw. The racial gerrymander is one of those tools. From there, Ruth O. Shaw sued this proposed plan with the argument that this 12th district was unconstitutional and violated the Fourteenth Amendment under the clause of equal protection. The law of redistricting had to comply with this act in order for the minority group to have impact in the U.S. government. What are the advantages and disadvantages of majority-minority districts? Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, Virginia House of Delegates v. Bethune-Hill. The resulting district was strangely structured and did not follow reapportionment guidelines which highlighted the importance of compactness, contiguousness, geographical boundaries, or political subdivisions." We agree. Fast Facts: Shaw v. Reno Case Argued: April 20, 1993 Decision Issued: June 28, 1993 It reinforces the perception that members of the same racial group--regardless of their age, education, economic status, or the community in which the live--think alike, share the same political interests, and will prefer the same candidates at the polls. A special three-judge district court dismissed the suit against both the attorney general and the state officials. Traditional civil rights groups--the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund--submitted amicus curiae briefs in favor of the minority districts, and groups with long histories of opposition to quota programs--Washington Legal Foundation and the American Jewish Congress--argued against them. AP US Government & Politics students should be thoroughly familiar with 15 Supreme Court Cases for the AP exam. Arlington Heights v. Metropolitan Housing Development Corp.(1977). In the decision, the court ruled in a 54 majority that redistricting based on race must be held to a standard of strict scrutiny under the equal protection clause and on the basis that it violated the fourteenth Amendment because it was drawn solely based on race.[2]. The message that such districting sends to elected representatives is equally pernicious. 79 0 obj The Equal Protection Clause should only be used to protect those who have been discriminated against in the past, they wrote. Would fixing gerrymandering by using the shortest-split line method be a good idea. The shapes of the two districts in question were quite controversial. Shaw v. Reno was an influential case and received backlash. At some points the district was no wider than Interstate 85, prompting one state legislator to remark that if "you drove down the interstate with both car doors open, you'd kill most of the people in the district." [29] Likewise, Miller v. Johnson is another case that was influenced by Shaw. [30], There have been controversies and misinterpretations associated with Shaw v. Reno. Despite this, voter rights are being controlled by district shapes in the redistricting process. While most APSA members are scholars who teach and conduct A reapportionment plan that includes in one district individuals who belong to the same race, but who are otherwise widely separated by geographical and political boundaries, and who may have little in common with one another but the color of their skin, bears an uncomfortable resemblance to political apartheid. Legislative districts that cannot be explained through any means other than race may be struck down in court. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Shaw v. Reno, 509 U.S. 630 (1993), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in the area of redistricting and racial gerrymandering. For more information about the APSA, its As a result, it is possible for courts to interpret Shaw differently. That duty, however, is not violated when the majority acts to facilitate the election of a member of a group that lacks such power because it remains underrepresented in the state legislature - whether that group is defined by political affiliation, by common economic interests, or by religious, ethnic, or racial characteristics. However, after its enactment, many southern states began implementing new ways to bar African Americans from voting. Not only should you be familiar with the final decisions, you should be familiar with the reasons for the majority opinion and how they impacted American society. Therefore, such redistricting was held unconstitutional since it found intention to segregate voters by race and this segregation cannot be justified under a standard of strict scrutiny. The U.S. Supreme Court and the federal government should encourage states to find ways to comply with the act, even if compliance results in oddly shaped districts, the attorney argued. endobj See, e.g.,Rogers v. Lodge(1982);White v. Regester(1973). Nonetheless, in those cases where this cause of action is sufficiently pleaded, the State will have to justify its decision to consider race as being required by a compelling state interest, and its use of race as narrowly tailored to that interest. <<98D4E2AA91A4B2110A009004BAD0FF7F>]/Prev 216420>> District 12, shown here in pink, was an oddly-shaped district that followed a highway. Only two years after Shaw v. Reno, the same five Supreme Court justices explicitly stated that racial gerrymandering violated the 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause in Miller v. Johnson. This outlook has the potential to disenfranchise minorities, as courts may place more importance on the shape of the district, rather than the underrepresented people.[31]. This district would be North Carolina's second "majority-minority" district of majority Black voters. 0000003021 00000 n Shaw v. Reno is an important decision because it represents a conservative shift on the Court. xref 0000030557 00000 n Their individual voting rights had not been impacted. We suggest making sure to create a study plan and set up your study space with a good environment. 0000043223 00000 n Racial classifications with respect to voting carry particular dangers. According to the College Board, these cases are essential content in college courses and in-depth analysis will help you gain the basis needed for future courses in politics. The principle of equality is at war with the notion that District A must be represented by a Negro, as it is with the notion that District B must be represented by a Caucasian, District C by a Jew, District D by a Catholic, and so on. That system, by whatever name it is called, is a divisive force in a community, emphasizing differences between candidates and voters that are irrelevant in the constitutional sense. "When racial or religious lines are drawn by the State, the multiracial, multireligious communities that our Constitution seeks to weld together as one become separatist; antagonisms that relate to race or to religion rather than to political issues are generated; communities seek not the best representative but the best racial or religious partisan. North Carolinas 1990 census entitled the state to a 12th seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. [5] With new technology and tactics of packing and cracking, gerrymandering has become easier through the years but within gerrymandering, limitations exist. Almost thirty years later, the Supreme Court's decision in Shaw v. Reno3 focuses again on the In order for White voters in North Carolina to even file suit against the state and federal government, they had to have been harmed. <> Unlike other contexts in which we have addressed the State's conscious use of race, see, e.g.,Richmond v. J.A. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the District Court and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. JUSTICE O'CONNOR DELIVERED THE OPINION OF THE COURT. subfields aimed at the informed, general reader. Because the holding is limited to such anomalous circumstances, it perhaps will not substantially hamper a State's legitimate efforts to redistrict in favor of racial minorities. The District Court, on remand, must determine whether there is racial gerrymandering, and if so, determine whether the plan is narrowly tailored to further a compelling governmental interest. Therefore, North Carolina created a plan that resulted in two majority-black districts. Therefore, the states redesigned districts deserve the same level of scrutiny under the Fourteenth Amendment as a law that has explicit racial motivations. <>/Border[0 0 0]/Rect[510.324 617.094 549.0 629.106]/Subtype/Link/Type/Annot>> After the 1990 census, the North Carolina General Assembly was entitled to a 12th seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and redrew its congressional districts to account for the changes in population. [17], An essential case, repeatedly referred to throughout the Shaw v. Reno case was the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg V. Carey case. A group of five white residents of Durham county, North Carolina, headed by Ruth Shaw, challenged the redistricting plan in federal district court as an act of racial gerrymandering that violated various provisions of the Constitution, including the equal protection clause. [10] This changed with the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which outlawed these racially discriminatory practices and required government supervision for states that had less than 50 percent of non-White citizens registered to vote. <>stream In 1993, about 20% of the state population identified as Black. "One person, one vote" requires congressional districts, to the extent possible, to be equally populated so that each vote carries with it the same amount of influence at the ballot box. Because of previous acts of racial discrimination, North Carolina fell under the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which mandated that any redistricting plan adopted by the state legislature be submitted to the U.S. Justice Department or the District Court for the District of Columbia for approval. Residents argued that the state had gone too far when redrawing district lines to create a second majority-minority district. Reno. To contextualize the Shaw supreme court case, gerrymandering is the redrawing of electoral districts to help give a political advantage. While not dispositive, "bizarrely shaped" districts are strongly indicative of racial intent." from the NCSL Shelby County v. Holder (2013) San Antonio Indep. The Justice Department accepted this revision. (Hope this helped). Its central purpose is to prevent the States from purposefully discriminating between individuals on the basis of race. In addition to being unclear, Shaw has the ability to disenfranchise minorities. If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website. The United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg claimed that the plan violated their constitutional rights because the districts had been assigned solely on a racial basis. b#HE[aF34k In Shaw v. Reno (1993), the U.S. Supreme Court questioned the use of racial gerrymandering in North Carolina's reapportionment plan. publications and programs, please see the APSA website. Under the Voting Rights Act, the State had to get approval for any congressional redistricting plan. Until today, the Court has analyzed equal protection claims involving race in electoral districting differently from equal protection claims involving other forms of governmental conduct, and before turning to the different regimes of analysis it will be useful to set out the relevant respects in which such districting differs from the characteristic circumstances in which a State might otherwise consciously consider race. The Civil Rights Act of 1866: History and Impact, 5 Key Events in Affirmative Action History, Reynolds v. Sims: Supreme Court Case, Arguments, Impact, Sex Discrimination and the U.S. Constitution, Civil Rights Legislation and Supreme Court Cases, Women's Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment, Baker v. Carr: Supreme Court Case, Arguments, Impact. 0000002203 00000 n Appellants contend that redistricting legislation that is so bizarre on its face that it is "unexplainable on grounds other than race,"Arlington Heights, demands the same close scrutiny that we give other state laws that classify citizens by race. what are the advantages and disadvantages of majority-minority districts? endobj [7] Section 2 of this act opposes using discriminatory voting practices in the election process and that in itself prohibits gerrymandering based on race. If a reapportionment plan creates a district that is so irregular that the only reason for its creation is to separate voters based on race, then an Equal Protection challenge against that plan is valid. HtSj@}edD J%VPJ" TQP*`?"7wX.@mg +yxRzVF!Pd(q>&90PA49n>&xj@!ii]P7iNFIk.%KDWpYD 8cmqJ%W2jiNUT*D[Gle/#Y0q~ 0000001421 00000 n Chappelle v. Greater Baton Rouge Airport Dist. 0000000016 00000 n 84 0 obj At issue is whether the plan systematically dilutes the voting strength of Democratic voters statewide. It is against this background that we confront the questions presented here. HAn1E9 1J3 rri3H M>UGw!A"mjfBWg@"Xj j5.%{KB`rW!y The Supreme Court continues to hear cases about gerrymandering and racially motivated districts. Residents objected to the re-apportionment plan, and five White residents from Durham County, North Carolina, led by Ruth O. Shaw, filed suit against the state and the federal government. Ruth Shaw and four other white North Carolina voters filed suit against the U.S. attorney general and various North Carolina officials, claiming that race-based redistricting violated, among other provisions, the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. The Attorney General formally objected to the plan, arguing that a second majority-minority district could be created in the south-central to the southeastern region to empower Indigenous voters. In Reynold v. Sims, the phrase people, not trees of pastures, vote can be applied to Shaw, as people, not highways, vote. These required cases tend to appear throughout the AP exam multiple choice. Following is the case brief for Shaw v. Reno, 509 U.S. 630 (1993) Case Summary of Shaw v. Reno: The State of North Carolina, in response to the U.S. Attorney General's objection that it had only one majority-black congressional district, created a second majority-black district. North Carolina's 12th congressional district, League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry, Alabama Legislative Black Caucus v. Alabama, List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 509, "Race and Redistricting: Drawing Constitutional Lines after, Congressional Redistricting and the Voting Rights Act: A Legal Overview, "Shaw v. Reno: Supreme Court Case, Arguments, Impact", "gerrymandering | Definition, Litigation, & Facts | Britannica", "What Is Gerrymandering? Shaw sued on the basis that the plan violated several constitutional principles, including the 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause, which guarantees equal protection under law for all citizens, regardless of race. Its central purpose is to prevent the states from purposefully discriminating between individuals on the basis of race. We have rejected such perceptions elsewhere as impermissible racial stereotypes. By perpetuating such notions, a racial gerrymander may exacerbate the very patterns of racial bloc voting that majority-minority districting is sometimes said to counteract.

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