Legislative Districts – Gerrymandering – Constitutionality

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United States Supreme Court

Case Name: North Carolina, et al v. Sandra Little Covington, et al

Case No.: 16-1023

Focus: Legislative Districts – Gerrymandering – Constitutionality

The North Carolina General Assembly redrew state legislative districts in 2011 to account for population changes revealed by the 2010 census. In May 2015, several registered North Carolina voters (here called plaintiffs) brought this action in the U. S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, alleging that 28 majorityblack districts in the new plan were unconstitutional racial gerrymanders. The District Court ruled for the plaintiffs in August 2016, holding that race was the predominant factor in the design of each challenged district, and that in none was that use of race “supported by a strong basis in evidence and narrowly tailored to comply with [the Voting Rights Act].” 316 F. R. D. 117, 176 (MDNC 2016).* The court declined to require changes in time for the then-impending November 2016 election, but ordered the General Assembly to redraw the map before North Carolina holds any future elections for that body. See App. to Juris. Statement

Vacated

Dissenting:

Concurring:

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.