University:
University College London
Course:
LAWS0002 | Property Law I
Academic year:

2022
Views:

399

Pages:

1
Author:

Maverick Martin

Shaw v Reno FRQ SCOTUS Scoring Guide Following the 1990 census, Texas gained seats in the United States House of Representatives. The redistricting plan included three new districts, two of which had a majority of Latino voters, and another that had a majority of African American voters. In addition, they reconﬁgured a fourth district to make it predominantly African American. The Texas plan was approved by the Department of Justice under the requirements of the Voting Rights Act (1965). However, the plan was challenged in the federal courts as racial gerrymandering. In Bush v. Vera (1996) the Supreme Court concluded that the state had violated the United States Constitution in the drawing of the districts. In the majority opinion, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor said that the redistricting was “so extremely irregular on its face, that it rationally can be viewed only as an effort to segregate the races for the purposes of voting without regard for traditional redistricting principles.” A) Identify a constitutional clause that is common to both Bush v. Vera (1996) and Shaw v. Reno (1993) B) Explain how the facts in both cases led to similar holdings. C) Explain how the decision in Bush v. Vera could affect the process of redistricting for congressional representation in other states. Task A: Identify the constitutional clause that is common to both Bushv. Veraand Shawv. Reno. Examples might include the following: · Both cases concern the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Task B2: Explain how the facts led to similar decisions in both cases. Examples might include the following: · In both cases, the Supreme Court invalidated legislative districts on the basis that race was a factor in drawing the districts. The Court viewed these legislative districts as violations of the equal protection clause. Task C: Explain how the decision in Bushv. Veracould affect the process of redistricting for congressional representation in states. Examples might include the following: · States have the power to decide which method to use to draw district lines. The Constitution does not outline a speciﬁc process, leaving it up to the states. The Supreme Court decision in Bush v. Vera would force states to consider in their process a way to create districts without any consideration of race.