1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:04,240 Speaker 1: Jerrymandering is baked into the political process, as legislators remap 2 00:00:04,280 --> 00:00:07,400 Speaker 1: the boundaries of their voting districts every ten years, usually 3 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:10,400 Speaker 1: to the benefit of the party in control. Republicans have 4 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:14,560 Speaker 1: more than doubled their control of state legislatures since and 5 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:18,600 Speaker 1: Democrats are fighting back in court against the redistricting that 6 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:22,800 Speaker 1: Vice President Joe Biden said stacked the deck against the Democrats. 7 00:00:23,560 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 1: They ended up with a lot of districts where the uh, 8 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:31,680 Speaker 1: the Lauren Almighty could not defeat a Republican. They put 9 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:35,199 Speaker 1: so many Republicans in it didn't matter. There's often a 10 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:39,680 Speaker 1: strong connection between race and political party. Further complicating the process, 11 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:43,640 Speaker 1: The Voting Rights Act requires states with large minority populations 12 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:47,480 Speaker 1: to consider race when drawing district lines. So when does 13 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:51,280 Speaker 1: the use of race in redistricting go too far? Today? 14 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 1: The Supreme Court considered this issue and heard arguments in 15 00:00:54,960 --> 00:00:58,680 Speaker 1: two racial jerremandering cases, one in Virginia, the other in 16 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:02,920 Speaker 1: North Carolina. Our guests, our election law experts, Nate Personally, 17 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:06,920 Speaker 1: professor at Stanford University Law School, and Josh Douglas, Professor 18 00:01:06,959 --> 00:01:10,640 Speaker 1: at the University of Kansas Law School. Nate, will you 19 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:15,040 Speaker 1: explain the competing considerations the legislators are supposed to take 20 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:20,600 Speaker 1: into account with regard to race when redistricting. Well, legislators 21 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:23,800 Speaker 1: are under sort of two legal obligations under federal law. 22 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:27,080 Speaker 1: One is from the Voting Rights Act, the parts that 23 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:29,679 Speaker 1: still remain, which says that you must make sure that 24 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:33,440 Speaker 1: minorities have an equal opportunity to elect their can'ts of choice, 25 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:37,480 Speaker 1: and that often means that in areas of high minority concentration, 26 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:41,520 Speaker 1: you have to draw majority African American, majority Latino districts. 27 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:45,240 Speaker 1: At the same time, the Constitution prevents states from using 28 00:01:45,319 --> 00:01:47,840 Speaker 1: race too much. You can't use race as the predominant 29 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:50,880 Speaker 1: factor in the construction of a district. And so these 30 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:53,600 Speaker 1: cases are in part about how you, uh, sort of 31 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:56,280 Speaker 1: square that circle. How do you draw districts that comply 32 00:01:56,360 --> 00:01:58,880 Speaker 1: with the Voting Rights Act but don't run a foul 33 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:03,520 Speaker 1: of the Constitution. Josh, the dynamic in these cases is 34 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:05,960 Speaker 1: very different than it was twenty or thirty years ago. 35 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:08,160 Speaker 1: It used to be that what you would see would 36 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:15,359 Speaker 1: be a minority group or or um uh minority voters saying, uh, 37 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:17,440 Speaker 1: you're not complying with that first thing that Nate was 38 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 1: talking about, the Voting Rights Act and not giving us 39 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:24,560 Speaker 1: an opportunity to elect representatives of our choice. Now it 40 00:02:24,639 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 1: seems to be that the districts are they're saying, hey, 41 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:32,480 Speaker 1: these districts have too many racial minorities in them, more 42 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:36,000 Speaker 1: than we actually need. Can you explain why that that 43 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:39,720 Speaker 1: evolution has taken place? Yeah, This is known as a 44 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:44,120 Speaker 1: phenomenon of called cracking and packing uh. And the basic 45 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:48,160 Speaker 1: purity is that and particularly what you mentioned putting almost 46 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 1: too many minorities in one district. There he goes that 47 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:55,040 Speaker 1: if you put as many minorities as possible in one district, 48 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:58,160 Speaker 1: they'll have a supermajority, which means they will not have 49 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:00,880 Speaker 1: any influence in any of the surrounding districts. And so 50 00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:05,160 Speaker 1: you've packed them into one uh and made it easy, 51 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:07,760 Speaker 1: extremely easy for them to win that one district, but 52 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:10,880 Speaker 1: very difficult and impossible for them to them to have 53 00:03:10,919 --> 00:03:14,640 Speaker 1: an influence in the surrounding areas. And that's been one 54 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:18,240 Speaker 1: tactic that some states have used, and some of course 55 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:23,480 Speaker 1: have said that that's unlawful. Nate North Carolina's twelfth district, 56 00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:26,040 Speaker 1: which was an issue here, has been described as the 57 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:30,080 Speaker 1: nation's most oddly shaped and the first and the twelve 58 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:33,320 Speaker 1: districts have been the subject of Supreme Court cases five 59 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:37,120 Speaker 1: times over the past thirty years. Is that a telling 60 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:41,200 Speaker 1: point that it's a very oddly shaped district and that 61 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:44,600 Speaker 1: they seem to be having a lot of problems. Well, 62 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:47,360 Speaker 1: I have to say North Carolina has done amazing work 63 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:50,600 Speaker 1: for the country and clarifying redistricting law and muddying at times, 64 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:53,640 Speaker 1: so they probably they've done a public service for for 65 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:56,080 Speaker 1: law professors like me and Josh. But I'll say this, 66 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:59,600 Speaker 1: which is that what North Carolina shows, and this sort 67 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,480 Speaker 1: of famous district twelve has shown, is that there are 68 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:06,160 Speaker 1: very difficult decisions that need to be made in order 69 00:04:06,200 --> 00:04:09,840 Speaker 1: to ensure in areas of high minority concentration that minorities 70 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 1: are able to elect their cancer choice, but that the 71 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:18,200 Speaker 1: rules of color blindness that ordinarily governed UH government activity 72 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:22,120 Speaker 1: UH should not be broken. And so you end up 73 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:25,279 Speaker 1: with this problem, especially in a context where one party 74 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:28,840 Speaker 1: is trying to jerrymander the other um that they end 75 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:32,280 Speaker 1: up using race as a proxy for politics. And so 76 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:35,640 Speaker 1: these constitutional and voting rights at considerations come in as 77 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:38,840 Speaker 1: ways to try to destabilize the gerrymander and say that 78 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:41,880 Speaker 1: you have you know, treated African Americans in a discriminatory 79 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:47,120 Speaker 1: way by over concentrating them. As just said, Josh, that 80 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:50,320 Speaker 1: was basically the argument that North Carolina made today in court, 81 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:53,279 Speaker 1: which is that for that District twelve, it was politics 82 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:57,800 Speaker 1: that explains everything. What's the counter to that argument? And 83 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:00,800 Speaker 1: in particular, Uh, some of the just has pressed the 84 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:04,000 Speaker 1: people challenging the district, how come you didn't present us 85 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:06,760 Speaker 1: an alternative map that we could have used to to 86 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:09,680 Speaker 1: show how how they could have achieved the same political 87 00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:12,560 Speaker 1: and without using race quite so much. Well, I think 88 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:15,479 Speaker 1: underlying your question is the fact that the court is 89 00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:20,360 Speaker 1: not policing partisanship in jerrymandering at all. Currently, the Court 90 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:23,159 Speaker 1: has said that we're not going to touch a case 91 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 1: where partisanship or politics placed too much for a role 92 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:30,200 Speaker 1: in the line drawing process. And so in many ways, 93 00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:33,679 Speaker 1: some of these challenges are kind of a end run 94 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:39,039 Speaker 1: around trying to challenge a partisan gerrymander through another form, uh, 95 00:05:39,279 --> 00:05:42,760 Speaker 1: finding another way that the map is unlawful because you 96 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:46,000 Speaker 1: can't challenge the partisanship of it. So that question that 97 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:48,600 Speaker 1: the dust is asked about, show us an alternative map 98 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:52,320 Speaker 1: that achieved your political goal goals, just as well, but 99 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:56,560 Speaker 1: without having this race based effect is important part of 100 00:05:56,600 --> 00:06:00,120 Speaker 1: the proof that a challenger would have to bring that 101 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:03,279 Speaker 1: the state would have to use to defend the law um. 102 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:06,120 Speaker 1: And so there's this underlying notion of politics that the 103 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:08,919 Speaker 1: Court is basically saying we're not touching. And that's I 104 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:12,400 Speaker 1: think one reason why you get these assistant challenges to 105 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:15,840 Speaker 1: maps in North Carolina multiple times, because what is really 106 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:17,880 Speaker 1: going on is I think it's probably a little bit 107 00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:22,480 Speaker 1: of both. But yet the challengers can't use partisanship, at 108 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:26,320 Speaker 1: least currently, until the Court recognizes a standard that can't use, 109 00:06:26,839 --> 00:06:30,280 Speaker 1: you can't challenge a math because of that partisanship, Nate, 110 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:35,440 Speaker 1: is the are the justices allowed or is it before them? 111 00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:40,000 Speaker 1: The political climate in North Carolina before the election, in 112 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:42,919 Speaker 1: other words, there was an attempt to cut back early 113 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:49,040 Speaker 1: voting and other things that would specifically disadvantage African Americans, 114 00:06:49,320 --> 00:06:54,520 Speaker 1: and so a racial motivation was shown to some. So 115 00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:57,160 Speaker 1: is that part of it? I think it is part 116 00:06:57,200 --> 00:06:59,000 Speaker 1: of it. I think, you know, the question that a 117 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:02,240 Speaker 1: lot of them will be asking is whether this gerrymander 118 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:05,800 Speaker 1: was part of a larger project to discriminate against African 119 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:10,320 Speaker 1: American voters. Now, the constitutional question is simply whether these 120 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:13,880 Speaker 1: particular districts were drawn predominantly on the basis of race. 121 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:18,440 Speaker 1: And so in the normal parlance of redistricting, it's not 122 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:20,960 Speaker 1: that these planeiffs are saying that their vote was diluted, 123 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:23,200 Speaker 1: that they should have gotten a third district instead of 124 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: just having two districts. They're saying the mere fact that 125 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:30,040 Speaker 1: you treated all of us as an undifferentiated group African Americans, 126 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:33,200 Speaker 1: it is that you have then discriminated against us under 127 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:36,040 Speaker 1: the constitution. Josh, that gets to one of the core 128 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:38,600 Speaker 1: questions in the case. Should that be enough? Should it 129 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:42,520 Speaker 1: be enough that they just show UH that that race 130 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:46,320 Speaker 1: was used, or should an effect on the ability to 131 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:50,040 Speaker 1: UH to cast a vote that means something be part 132 00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:52,800 Speaker 1: of the analysis. Well, I think that's what exactly what 133 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:55,720 Speaker 1: the justice are are trying to grapple with here, because 134 00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:59,400 Speaker 1: the prior case law simply says it needs to or 135 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:03,320 Speaker 1: you can't have a predominant overriding interest be based on race. 136 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:06,400 Speaker 1: And now we're trying to define what that means. Does 137 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:11,760 Speaker 1: that mean that other normal redistrict criteria, like having compact districts, 138 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:16,280 Speaker 1: like trying to achieve population equality among districts, UH, if 139 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:19,960 Speaker 1: those are the considerations in a difference in addition to race, 140 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:23,680 Speaker 1: is race now a predominant factor? Um? And that's one 141 00:08:23,680 --> 00:08:25,680 Speaker 1: of the arguments that the state is making here. I 142 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:28,520 Speaker 1: think in the Virginia case in particular, the state is saying, look, well, 143 00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:31,960 Speaker 1: we use these other criteria and addition, and therefore race 144 00:08:32,040 --> 00:08:37,680 Speaker 1: can't be the predominant factor. Um. You know, signing Figuring 145 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:41,400 Speaker 1: out whether race was a predominant factor an important factor 146 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:44,880 Speaker 1: in making a decision is really difficult without some sort 147 00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:48,040 Speaker 1: of smoking gun. Where do you see the legislatures saying, 148 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:50,120 Speaker 1: you know, let's move the lines this way or that 149 00:08:50,160 --> 00:08:52,800 Speaker 1: way for racial reasons. We've been talking about Supreme Court 150 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:57,720 Speaker 1: oral arguments today and to racial gerrymanderin cases with election 151 00:08:57,800 --> 00:09:00,760 Speaker 1: law experts in Neate personally, professor at stand For University 152 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:05,040 Speaker 1: Law School, and just Josh Douglas, professor at the University 153 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:09,080 Speaker 1: of Kentucky Law School, and our own Greg Store was 154 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:13,520 Speaker 1: in the audience today listening to the arguments. Greg, was 155 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:17,640 Speaker 1: there any indication from the justices of which way they 156 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:21,120 Speaker 1: were leaning. Well, there's a sense, June, it felt like 157 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:24,920 Speaker 1: we were going for a fairly narrow ruling. There is 158 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:27,439 Speaker 1: a precedent in this area from about a year and 159 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:30,640 Speaker 1: a half ago a case involving Alabama, where the Court 160 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:35,720 Speaker 1: revived a suit challenging Republican drawing lines there on similar lines. 161 00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:38,240 Speaker 1: That was a five four decision, with Justice Kennedy joining 162 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:40,839 Speaker 1: the liberals. It seemed like Justice Kennedy, at least in 163 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:44,720 Speaker 1: the Virginia case, was inclined to say, at a minimum, 164 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:46,679 Speaker 1: I want the lower court to take another look at 165 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:49,719 Speaker 1: this using a tougher standard. The North Carolina case was 166 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:52,480 Speaker 1: a little tougher to call because there's a a lurking 167 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:57,880 Speaker 1: question there about a a state court case challenging the 168 00:09:57,920 --> 00:10:01,320 Speaker 1: same issue, and justices were concerned about how that case 169 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:03,640 Speaker 1: might affect this one, And in fact, one of the 170 00:10:03,679 --> 00:10:08,360 Speaker 1: key questions in that area came from Justice Ginsburg. So, uh, 171 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:10,800 Speaker 1: you know, that case is a little harder to call. 172 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:15,640 Speaker 1: Let me turn back to Nate. Nate, you're gonna say 173 00:10:15,720 --> 00:10:19,720 Speaker 1: something before we we had to cut away go ahead 174 00:10:19,760 --> 00:10:21,560 Speaker 1: with what you were going to say. Please, Well, this 175 00:10:21,640 --> 00:10:24,120 Speaker 1: actually doubtails with what you just said, which there is 176 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:26,320 Speaker 1: a difference between these cases in that there is a 177 00:10:26,360 --> 00:10:30,520 Speaker 1: concession with respect to Virginia that they drew districts at 178 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:34,400 Speaker 1: African American. And so if the court wants to just 179 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:38,280 Speaker 1: say that mechanical percentages are not what's required under the 180 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:41,240 Speaker 1: Voting Rights Act and that doing so therefore violates the Constitution, 181 00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:43,560 Speaker 1: they have a way out with the Virginia case and 182 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:45,640 Speaker 1: just say that you can't, you know, just sort of 183 00:10:45,679 --> 00:10:52,600 Speaker 1: coarsely group African Americans in this manner. And Josh Justice Brier, 184 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:56,440 Speaker 1: according to Greg's article, said he'd hoped that the last ruling, 185 00:10:56,480 --> 00:11:00,640 Speaker 1: the ruling would end these cases in this which it 186 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:04,240 Speaker 1: certainly doesn't seem to have done. What would end these 187 00:11:04,320 --> 00:11:08,480 Speaker 1: cases going to the Supreme Court? Excuse me, um, I 188 00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:10,240 Speaker 1: think it's gonna be hard to end these cases in 189 00:11:10,280 --> 00:11:14,160 Speaker 1: general because of a weird procedural quirk in these cases, 190 00:11:14,160 --> 00:11:16,880 Speaker 1: and that the Supreme Court has to hear them. Here 191 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:19,280 Speaker 1: an appeal from a three judge court. So, of course 192 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:22,120 Speaker 1: the court could set down a harder standard, a stricter 193 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:26,120 Speaker 1: standard from lower course to follow, but the losing party 194 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:28,520 Speaker 1: has a right to appeal these three judge district court 195 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:31,320 Speaker 1: cases directly to the Supreme Court. UH, and the Supreme 196 00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:34,080 Speaker 1: courts have to do something with them, whether it's UH 197 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:38,160 Speaker 1: summarily affirm or deny whatever they do is presidential. So 198 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:43,040 Speaker 1: I think Justice Brier may be hoping for a clearer standard. Um, 199 00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:45,319 Speaker 1: But as long as courts are still in the business 200 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:48,559 Speaker 1: of redisearching, and as long as we have this procedural 201 00:11:48,679 --> 00:11:51,040 Speaker 1: rule with automatic appeal to the U. S. Supreme Court, 202 00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:54,240 Speaker 1: I don't see these cases ending anytime soon. Let me 203 00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:56,959 Speaker 1: circle back to that point you were talking about. One 204 00:11:56,960 --> 00:11:59,760 Speaker 1: of the questions in the courtroom today came from Justice Alito, 205 00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:02,640 Speaker 1: where he essentially says said that, hey, we're when you're 206 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:05,440 Speaker 1: drawing lines for an entire decade, maybe it makes sense 207 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:07,280 Speaker 1: to have a little bit of a buffer here. And 208 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:09,120 Speaker 1: if you're going to have a you know, kind of 209 00:12:09,440 --> 00:12:13,360 Speaker 1: a set number, fifty minority seems like a pretty good 210 00:12:13,400 --> 00:12:17,080 Speaker 1: one in terms of giving minority voters the opportunity to 211 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:23,079 Speaker 1: elect uh the candidate of their choosing. Well, that is 212 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:26,480 Speaker 1: right with respect to getting sort of foresight and um, 213 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:28,840 Speaker 1: some clear directions to people like me who end up 214 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:31,920 Speaker 1: drawing these lines. But you know, this is the problem 215 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:34,000 Speaker 1: when you have two legal standards that are in conflict, 216 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:36,040 Speaker 1: which he said with each other. He would never say 217 00:12:36,040 --> 00:12:39,080 Speaker 1: that for a school desegregation case that for example, Oh well, 218 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:41,760 Speaker 1: if he had a district that was fifty African American, 219 00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:44,840 Speaker 1: that we should that that would be what the Constitution desires. 220 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:48,360 Speaker 1: For the most part, the conservatives have always been hostile 221 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:51,200 Speaker 1: to the notion that you can have fixed quotas uh 222 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:53,320 Speaker 1: and that that would be allowed by the Constitution. So 223 00:12:53,360 --> 00:12:55,440 Speaker 1: the question is why wouldn't that be the case here? 224 00:12:55,840 --> 00:12:57,719 Speaker 1: If you turn back the clock twenty years ago when 225 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:00,800 Speaker 1: these cases first started coming up in the in the 226 00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:04,240 Speaker 1: context what's none of the show versus Reno line of cases, um, 227 00:13:04,280 --> 00:13:07,640 Speaker 1: it was this mechanical use of race that particularly irked 228 00:13:07,640 --> 00:13:10,880 Speaker 1: the more conservative justices, uh, so much so that Justice 229 00:13:10,880 --> 00:13:14,040 Speaker 1: O'Connor described it as tantamount to a political apartheid. And 230 00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:16,760 Speaker 1: so now the tables have been turned and the Democrats 231 00:13:16,760 --> 00:13:19,040 Speaker 1: are suing against these districts, and we'll see what they 232 00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:24,160 Speaker 1: decided to do. Josh, any final thoughts on whether which 233 00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:26,840 Speaker 1: way these are going to go, well, I mean, I 234 00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:30,520 Speaker 1: think the number is problematic for some of the justices. 235 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:32,600 Speaker 1: I think a lot of them do not like using 236 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:35,839 Speaker 1: hard and fast numbers of certain requirements of the needs. 237 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:37,840 Speaker 1: Right that these states are really between a rock and 238 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:41,040 Speaker 1: hard place and trying to comply with both devoting right 239 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:45,400 Speaker 1: checked and the constitutional requirements. UM so I could see 240 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:48,800 Speaker 1: that one certainly getting romanded and saying to Virginia, you 241 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:52,080 Speaker 1: can't use this hard and fast number. The North caronlineal 242 00:13:52,160 --> 00:13:55,199 Speaker 1: one that's been had such a storied history that I 243 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:58,800 Speaker 1: wouldn't be surprised to see that one adding another chaptering 244 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:01,720 Speaker 1: and it being get sent down again as well. We 245 00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:03,360 Speaker 1: are going to have to leave it there. I want 246 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:05,839 Speaker 1: to thank our guest Josh Douglas, law professor at the 247 00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:09,240 Speaker 1: University of Kentucky, and Nate Personally, a law professor at 248 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:13,160 Speaker 1: Stanford University, talking about the voting rights cases at the 249 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:17,160 Speaker 1: Supreme Court UH this week. The Supreme Court will rule 250 00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:20,320 Speaker 1: on them by June. That's it for this edition of 251 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:23,640 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Law. We'll be back tomorrow thanks to our technical 252 00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:27,520 Speaker 1: director Chris tri Comey and our producer David Suckerman. You 253 00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:30,280 Speaker 1: can find more legal news at Bloomberg Law dot com 254 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:33,640 Speaker 1: and Bloomberg Being a dot com, plus an environment website 255 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:37,360 Speaker 1: for the legal community at Big Law Business dot com. 256 00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:40,760 Speaker 1: Coming up on Bloomberg Radio Bloomberg Markets with Carol Masser 257 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:44,640 Speaker 1: and Corey Johnson. Stay tuned for that here on Bloomberg 258 00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:47,320 Speaker 1: Radio this is Bloomberg,