| Georgia v. Ashcroft | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued April 29, 2003 Decided June 26, 2003 | |
| Full case name | Georgia, Appellant v. John Ashcroft, Attorney General, et al. |
| Citations | 539 U.S. 461 (more) 123 S. Ct. 2498; 156 L. Ed. 2d 428; 2003 U.S. LEXIS 5012; 71 U.S.L.W. 4545; 2003 Cal. Daily Op. Service 5549; 2003 Daily Journal DAR 7001; 16 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 448 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | On appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, 195 F. Supp. 2d 25 (D.D.C. 2002) |
| Holding | |
| Georgia did not violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in its redistricting. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | O'Connor, joined by Rehnquist, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas |
| Concurrence | Kennedy |
| Concurrence | Thomas |
| Dissent | Souter, joined by Stevens, Ginsburg, Breyer |
| Laws applied | |
| Voting Rights Act of 1965 | |
Georgia v. Ashcroft, 539 U.S. 461 (2003), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court found that a three-judge federal district court panel did not consider all of the requisite relevant factors when it examined whether the 2001 Georgia State Senate redistricting plan resulted in retrogression of black voters’ effective exercise of the electoral franchise in contravention of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Section 5, which only applies to those states or political subdivisions that are considered “covered” under Section 4(b) of the VRA, requires that before any change in voting procedure can take effect, it must be precleared by the federal government by a demonstration that the change would not "lead to a retrogression in the position of racial minorities with respect to their effective exercise of the electoral franchise.” The Court held that the district court analysis was incorrect “because it focused too heavily on the ability of the minority group to elect a candidate of its choice in the [safe] districts,” without giving proper consideration to other factors such as the state's creation of additional influence and coalition districts. Accordingly, the Supreme Court vacated and remanded the case to the district court to examine the facts using the new standard announced in its opinion.