The Green[e]house Effect: a Weblog

State Politics: Attorney General Wins Senate Redistricting Appeal

[Also posted at the Political State Report.]

In a 5-4 decision handed down on the last day of its term, the Supreme Court of the United States reversed a lower court ruling that discarded state Senate districts drawn by legislative Democrats and then-Governor Roy Barnes in 2001. The 2001 plan, if restored, could improve Democrats' chances of retaking the Senate in 2004.

The ruling represents a defeat for Governor Sonny Perdue (R) [see right], who tried to force Attorney General Thurbert Baker (D) [below, left] to drop his appeal of the case. A state court ruled in April that Perdue, as governor, had no authority to interfere with the separately elected attorney general in his determination of how to defend the state's interests in court.

The redistricting case, known as Georgia v. Ashcroft, originated with a suit filed by the state in 2001 to have the original redistricting plan "precleared" — or approved — under the Voting Rights Act. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which has jurisdiction over preclearance cases, rejected the state's proposed Senate plan, saying that it would have reduced opportunities for African American voters in three districts to elect candidates of their choice.

Justice O'Connor, writing for the majority, vacated the lower court's holding, saying that the "increase in black voting age population in the other districts likely offsets any marginal decrease in the black voting age population in the three districts that the District Court found retrogressive." Unpacking African American majorities of as much as 60 percent from a few districts, said O'Connor, ehanced overall African-American political influence, "increas[ing] from 10 to 13 the number of districts with a majority-black voting age population and increas[ing] from 8 to 13 the number of districts with a black voting age population of between 30% and 50%."

Joining O'Connor in today's holding [PDF] were Justice Scalia and Chief Justice Rehnquist. Justices Kennedy [PDF] and Thomas [PDF] wrote separate concurring opinions, while Justice Souter wrote a dissent [PDF] joined by Justices Breyer, Ginsburg, and Stevens.

Posted by Greg Greene at June 26, 2003 01:10 PM