Shaw v. Reno - Case Background, When Has A State Gone Too Far?, Dissension, Impact, Related Cases

court district decision appellant

Appellant

Ruth O. Shaw, et al.

Appellee

Janet Reno, U.S. Attorney General, et al.

Appellant's Claim

That the state of North Carolina created an unconstitutional racially gerrymandered district, which violates the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.

Chief Lawyer for Appellant

Robinson O. Everett

Chief Lawyer for Appellee

H. Jefferson Powell

Justices for the Court

Anthony M. Kennedy, Sandra Day O'Connor (writing for the Court), William H. Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas

Justices Dissenting

Harry A. Blackmun, David H. Souter, John Paul Stevens, Byron R. White

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

28 June 1993

Decision

The district court's decision was reversed and remanded.

Significance

The U.S. Supreme Court considered the many complex and difficult issues involved when the state of North Carolina proposed the creation of a second majority-minority district no wider than a two-lane highway, raising the possibility that this action violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.

Additional Topics

Shaw v. Reno - Case Background

In the fall of 1991, a reapportionment plan was submitted for the state of North Carolina that only included one black minority district. This plan was subsequently rejected by the U.S. attorney general due to the lack of minority voting representation. In order to remedy this, a revised plan was submitted that included a second majority-minority district of an unusual shape. The new district was …

Shaw v. Reno - When Has A State Gone Too Far?

The residents were represented by Robinson O. Everett, who argued that the state had gone too far in trying to secure a second black majority district. He argued that this new district, an awkward and unusual one that had no other purpose than to create a black majority, violated certain principles of reapportionment such as compactness, contiguousness, and community of interest. Everett concluded…

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