Court upholds total population count in electoral districts

Recent Cases

A unanimous Supreme Court ruled Monday that states can count everyone, not just eligible voters, in deciding how to draw electoral districts.
 
The justices turned back a challenge from Texas voters that could have dramatically altered political district boundaries and disproportionately affected the nation's growing Latino population.

The court ruled that Texas' challenged state Senate districting map, using total population, complied with the principle of "one person, one vote," the requirement laid out by the Supreme Court in 1964 that political districts be roughly equal in population.

The issue, though, was what population to consider: everyone or just eligible voters.

The challengers said the districts had vastly different numbers when looking at eligible voters, in violation of the Constitution.

"Jurisdictions, we hold, may design state and local legislative districts with equal total populations; they are not obliged to equalize voter populations," Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said, summarizing her opinion for the court.

Related listings

  • Karadzic convicted of genocide, sentenced to 40 years

    Karadzic convicted of genocide, sentenced to 40 years

    Recent Cases 03/23/2016

    A U.N. court convicted former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic of genocide and nine other charges Thursday and sentenced him to 40 years in prison for orchestrating Serb atrocities throughout Bosnia's 1992-95 war that left 100,000 people dead. As...

  • Lawyer: US citizen charged in UN case to plead guilty

    Lawyer: US citizen charged in UN case to plead guilty

    Recent Cases 03/16/2016

    A defense lawyer says a U.S. citizen charged in the United Nations bribery case will plead guilty Wednesday to charges. Attorney Brian Bieber said Monday that Francis Lorenzo will plead guilty to three charges. Lorenzo is a suspended ambassador from ...

  • Connecticut's top court hears Kennedy cousin murder case

    Connecticut's top court hears Kennedy cousin murder case

    Recent Cases 02/23/2016

    Connecticut's highest court was hearing arguments Wednesday on whether Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel should get a new trial or be sent back to prison for a 1975 murder. State prosecutors asked the state Supreme Court to reinstate the 2002 murder conv...

Car Accident Lawyers in New Rochelle, New York

If you have gotten in a car accident, it could seriously change your life. Whether the accident was caused by the other party’s fault or a fault of your own, you’ll want to to make sure that you are ready to prepare yourself for any cases that might follow.

Immediately following any type of car accident, it is important to take certain steps to ensure that the courts will treat you with respect and fairly. First, assess your mental and physical condition. Make sure right after the accident, you document any information regarding the accident and situation, it can be of great help later on.

You’ll want to make sure that you seek professional help for any medical conditions you may be experiencing. Do not wait to seek medical attention, you’ll want to make sure that you have documented evidence of the injury that was caused by the accident. The amount of treatment is also taken into consideration in every case.