The Supreme Court issued four decisions Monday morning, totaling 98 pages, resolving disputes over voting rights, speedy trial rules, expert witness fees and arbitration. None of the four got widespread attention at earlier stages, but the voting rights case is likely to stir some controversy now. The Court announced the rulings before recessing until March 23.
In the voting rights case, Bartlett v. Strickland (pdf), a splintered 5-4 majority of the Court ruled that the Voting Rights Act does not require state legislatures to create so-called “crossover” voting districts, which count on white voters joining with black voters to form a majority that would elect a minority candidate. Section 2 of the act, which requires legislators to act against the dilution of minority voting power in drawing district boundaries, is only triggered when a compact group of minority voters already exists to form a 50 percent majority of a district’s voting age population, the Court said. The North Carolina Legislature, arguing that it was trying to obey §2, created a nearly 40 percent black district in 1991 that drew on populations from several counties.
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