Court throws power to draw political districts to elected officials

In a dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens calls the plurality's opinion "a failure of judicial will."

"The concept of equal justice under law requires the state to govern impartially," he writes. "Today's plurality opinion would exempt governing officials from that duty in the context of legislative redistricting and would give license, for the first time, to partisan gerrymanders that are devoid of any rational justification."

Justice Kennedy concurred in the judgment upholding the Pennsylvania plan, but refused to say that no role exists for judges in policing political gerrymanders. Justices David Souter, Stephen Breyer, and Stevens suggested possible standards that could be applied in gerrymandering cases. But no single set of standards was endorsed by a majority.

The decision stems from a challenge to redistricting plans in Pennsylvania in which Democrats complained that Republicans had locked up a majority of congressional districts by packing Democratic voters into a few heavily Democratic districts while spreading Republican districts more widely across the state.

The Democrats said the redistricting plan would guarantee Republican dominance of the congressional delegation for the next 10 years even if more Democrats than Republicans vote in congressional elections.

At issue in Vieth v. Jubelirer was whether such political gerrymandering violates constitutional principles.

The issue arises at a time when party officials are able to use sophisticated computer information to assemble election districts that favor their party and disadvantage political challengers.

The case was being closely watched because with the nation itself sharply divided between Democrats and Republicans, both parties are looking for any advantage over the other to gain or hold control of Congress.

Because of population shifts identified in the 2000 census, Pennsylvania was slated to lose two of its 21 congressional seats in the state's redistricting effort. In 2001, the state was represented in Congress by 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats.

But the 19 new districts were drawn in such a way as to give Republicans at least a 12-to-7 advantage over Democrats, even though there were more registered Democrats in Pennsylvania than Republicans.

Ultimately the courts upheld the redistricting plan, ruling that while the partisan gerrymandering used to redraw the district lines offered an advantage to Republicans, it did not "shut out" Democrats from the political process and thus could not be held a violation of constitutional principles.

• Linda Feldmann contributed to this report.

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