Attack of the Gerrymander !.. History & NYLI Resources

One way of achieving a kind of immortality is to have a process named for you. Louis Pasteur discovered that microorganisms caused disease and fermentation and that this could be prevented by a heating process that became known as Pasteurization. Charles Cunningham Boycott, a 19th Century estate manager, refused to lower tenant farmers’ rents during one of Ireland’s many famines. The tenants’ response, a complete withdrawal of all commercial and social relations, has been used by political activists ever since and boycott is now both a noun and a verb.

And then there is Eldridge Gerry who lent his name to the nefarious political tactic of Gerrymandering….

Signer of the Declaration of Independence, XYZ affair conspirator, U.S. Vice President- Gerry has entered lexicon eternity through his use of the political equivalent of “creative accounting.” Massachusetts Governor Gerry’s administration was notable for what became known as gerrymandering, the division of electoral districts for partisan political advantage.

And, boy have there been A LOT of Supreme Court cases on the issue of Gerrymandering style redistricting. Consider….

• Baker v. Carr, 369 US 186 (1962) – State reapportionment claims are justiciable in federal court.
• Davis v. Bandemer, 478 US 109 (1986) -upheld Indiana’s redistricting plans as legal and also maintained that federal courts have the right to intervene in such matters.
• Shaw v. Reno, 509 US 630 (1993)- N.C. violated the Equal Protection Clause by drawing district boundaries with the goal of separating voters on the basis of race.
• Vieth v. Jubelirer, 541 US 267 (2004)- Court decided not to intervene because no appropriate judicial solution for political gerrymandering could be found.
• League of Latin American Citizens v. Perry 548 US 399 (2006) held that Texas redistricting didn’t violate the Constitution, but that part of the plan violated the Voting Rights Act. 
• Bethune v. Board of Elections 580 US __(2017)- Court clarifies its redistricting and provides Congress with insight into the standards when evaluating claims of racial gerrymandering

And as recently as 2019, it is still a question as to whether Gerrymandering belongs in their Court! In Both Lamone v. Benisek and Rucho v. Common Cause, the Supremes stated that partisan gerrymandering presents a political question beyond their reach.…

So where does Gerrymandering go from here? It’s at 200+ years old…. & seems to show no signs of slowing down…

Supreme Court Practice… now in its 11th Edition.. and you know Gerrymandering is discussed…available @ NYLI for the borrowing…

For researching Gerrymandering – or any topic! – consider joining The New York Law Institute. Click here for NYLI membership information….