“It is true that in mere private cases between individuals, a court will and ought to struggle hard against a construction which will, by a retrospective operation, affect the rights of parties, but in great national concerns ... the court must decide according to existing laws, and if it be necessary to set aside a judgment, rightful when rendered, but which cannot be affirmed but in violation of law, the judgment must be set aside.”
“Section 2, unlike the bailout procedure added by this bill, will take effect immediately, and will, of course, apply to pending cases in accordance with the well established principles of Bradley v. City of Richmond. 416 U.S. [696] 686 [94 S.Ct. 2006, 40 L.Ed.2d 476] (1974) and United States v. Alabama. 362 U.S. 602 [80 S.Ct. 924, 4 L.Ed.2d 982] (1980).”
“The reach of the Fifteenth Amendment against contrivances by a state to thwart equality in the enjoyment of the right to vote by citizens of the United States regardless of race or color, has been amply expounded by prior decisions.... The Amendment nullifies sophisticated as well as simple-minded modes of discrimination.”
“[T]he sound construction of the constitution must allow to the national legislature that discretion, with respect to the means by which the powers it confers are to be carried into execution, which will enable that body to perform the high duties assigned to it, in the manner most beneficial to the people. Let the end be legitimate, let it be within the scope of the constitution, and all means which are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end, which are not prohibited, but consist with the letter and spirit of the constitution, are constitutional.”
“Whatever legislation is appropriate, that is, adapted to carry out the objects the Amendments have in view, whatever tends to enforce submission to the prohibitions they contain, and to secure to all persons the enjoyment of perfect equality of civil rights and the equal protection of the laws against state denial or invasion, if not prohibited, ....”
“The plaintiffs' burden is to produce evidence supporting findings that the political processes leading to nomination and election were not equally open to participation by the group in question—that its members had less opportunity than did other residents in the district to participate *1564 in the political processes and to elect legislators of their choice.”
“The courts have recognized that disproportionate educational[,] employment, income level[,] and living conditions arising from past discrimination tend to depress minority political participation .... Where these conditions are shown, and where the level of black participation is depressed, plaintiffs need not prove any further causal nexus between their disparate *1569 socio-economic status and the depressed level of political participation.”
“On the poll official appointment question, the plaintiffs allege that the appointments made by the County Appointing Authority have been racially motivated and tend toward tokenism. They contend that it is important to have black *1570 poll officials so that black voters will have more confidence in the electoral system. The evidence before the Court reflects that the assertions of the plaintiffs are to a large extent true .... [O]ne black was appointed at each polling place for the 1970 election, and there is no evidence that this number has increased to any great extent.”
Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Population | White | Percent | Black | Percent |
1950 | 29,494 | 9,018 | 30.6 | 20,473 | 69.4 |
1960 | 27,098 | 10,270 | 37.9 | 16,828 | 62.1 |
1970 | 23,819 | 10,662 | 44.8 | 13,157 | 55.2 |
1980 | 25,047 | 11,663 | 46.6 | 13,346 | 53.2 |
1960 | 13,895 | 6,104 | 43.9 | 7,791 | 56.1 |
1970 | 14,113 | 6,949 | 49.2 | 7,164 | 50.8 |
1980 | 16,534 | 8,460 | 51.2 | 8,045 | 48.7 |
Year | Total | White | Percent | Black | Percent |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1970 | 14,630 | 8,058 | 56.1 | 6,302 | 43.9 |
1978 | 18,821 | 10,856 | 57.7 | 7,965 | 42.3 |
“The 1970 Census figures reveal that 744 of the 11,861 persons of 25 years of age and older had never attended school and that 1,652 of that number had completed only four years of education or less, establishing that 20.2% of the total 1970 population aged 25 years or older had either never attended school or had not completed more than four years of formal education. The same census figures reveal that in 1970 there were 5,905 black persons in Marengo County aged 25 years or older, that 690 of these had never attended school, and that 1486 of these had attended school for four years or less. Thus, the 36.9% of the black population over 25 years of age either never attending school or completing four years or less greatly exceeds the county-wide percentage of 20.2%. The figures further reveal that of the 2,244 Marengo County families who were below the poverty level in 1970, 1,841 (82%) were black, and that while the median income for all families in 1970 was $4,909.00 with a mean income of $6,478.00, the black family's median income was $2,456.00 and its mean income was $3,175.00. General Social and Economic Characteristics, Alabama, Tables 124 & 128, U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of the Census (1970). The housing figures from the 1970 Census depict a similar pattern of black poverty. 3,045 (40%) of the 7,341 housing units in Marengo County in 1970 lacked some or all plumbing facilities, and 2,440 (71%) of the 3,357 housing units with black heads of household lacked some or all of such facilities. General Housing Characteristics, Alabama, pp. 2–74, U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of the Census (1970). According to a 1976 survey, 2,824 (36%) of the 7,990 housing units in Marengo County were rated “sub-standard.” State Housing Plan (June 1976) of the Alabama Development Office (Gov. Exhibit 47). Finally, Census figures reveal that the 1970 per capita income in Marengo County was $1,639.00, while for black persons it was only $722.00 (1970 Census, pp. 2–378 & 2–402).”
“In our view, proof of discriminatory purpose should not be a prerequisite to establishing a violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.”
“No voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure shall be imposed or applied by any State or political subdivision to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color.”
“Additional factors that in some cases have had probative value as part of plaintiffs' evidence to establish a violation are:
“While these enumerated factors will often be the most relevant ones in some cases other factors will be indicative of the alleged dilution.”
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