Litigating for Equality of Political Opportunity
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Description
Amid the conservatism of an increasingly Reagan-appointed judiciary, voting rights litigation has distinguished itself as a field of civil rights law in which the plaintiffs' relative position has been strengthened dramatically in the past five years. By an irony of circumstance, the year of President Reagan's election, 1980, marked the nadir of the struggle for equality of political opportunity. The Supreme Court's decision in City of Mobile v. Bolden had cast the Fifteenth Amendment and the substantive protections of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act into the formidable mold of Washington v. Davis and its evidentiary requirement of proof of discriminatory intent. During the Reagan presidency, however, and despite the resistence of an obdurately hostile Administration, the 1982 Amendments to the Voting Rights Act and the 1986 decision of the Supreme Court in Thornburg v. Gingles decisively enhanced the prospects of minority litigants. Part of the resilience of voting rights claims undoubtedly stems from the centrality of the franchise in the order of political freedoms. Recognized a century ago as “protective of all other rights,” the ballot continues to receive accolades as the “crown jewel” of our liberties. The protection of voting claims also conforms to a conservative standard of judicial intervention restricted to the remedy of “process distortions” that impede the ability of political institutions to redress perceived societal ills. Thus, voting rights claims offer some prospect of opening up the political system to minority grievances, thereby relieving pressure on the judiciary as the sole forum for claims of discrimination. This article outlines the recent evolution of voting rights jurisprudence and the renewed capacity of racial and ethnic minorities to press claims that may indeed force a greater accountability of and responsiveness from political institutions. After all, who sits on that recalcitrant school board that continually opposes desegregation efforts—and how were they elected? Or, how is the Housing Authority, which continually implements plans that exacerbate segregation, elected and composed?
Source Publication
Civil Rights Litigation and Attorney Fees Annual Handbook
Source Editors/Authors
Jules Lobel, Barbara M. Wolvovitz
Publication Date
1987
Volume Number
3
Recommended Citation
Issacharoff, Samuel, "Litigating for Equality of Political Opportunity" (1987). Faculty Chapters. 942.
https://gretchen.law.nyu.edu/fac-chapt/942
