Thornburg v. Gingles
| Thornburg v. Gingles | |
|---|---|
|
| |
| Argued December 4, 1985 Decided June 30, 1986 | |
| Full case name | Lacy Thornburg, Attorney General of North Carolina, et al. v. Ralph Gingles, et al. |
| Citations |
106 S. Ct. 2752; 92 L. Ed. 2d 25; 1986 U.S. LEXIS 121; 54 U.S.L.W. 4877; 4 Fed. R. Serv. 3d (Callaghan) 1082 |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Brennan, joined by White, Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens (parts I, II, III-A, III-B, IV-A, V); Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens (part III-C); White (part IV-B) |
| Concurrence | White |
| Concurrence | O'Connor, joined by Burger, Powell, Rehnquist |
| Concur/dissent | Stevens, joined by Marshall, Blackmun |
Thornburg v. Gingles, 478 U.S. 30 (1986), was a United States Supreme Court case in which a unanimous Court found that "the legacy of official discrimination ... acted in concert with the multimember districting scheme to impair the ability of ... cohesive groups of black voters to participate equally in the political process and to elect candidates of their choice." The ruling invalidated districts of the North Carolina General Assembly and led to more single-member districts in state legislatures.
The Thornburg of the case was the North Carolina Attorney General, Lacy Thornburg. The case began under his predecessor, Rufus Edmisten, and was originally titled Gingles v. Edmisten. Attorneys for the plaintiff, Ralph Gingles, included Julius Chambers, Lani Guinier, and Leslie Winner.