Hunt v. Cromartie

Hunt v. Cromartie

Argued August 4, 1999
Decided May 17, 1999
Full case name James B. Hunt, Jr., Governor of North Carolina, et al., Appellants v. Martin Cromartie, et al.
Citations

526 U.S. 541 (more)

Holding
The 12th district of North Carolina as drawn was unconstitutional because it was created for the purpose of placing African Americans in one district, thereby constituting illegal racial gerrymandering.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Case opinions
Majority Thomas, joined by Rehnquist, O'Connor, Scalia, Kennedy
Concurrence Stevens, joined by Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. XIV

Hunt v. Cromartie, 526 U.S. 541 (1999), was a United States Supreme Court case regarding North Carolina's 12th congressional district. In an earlier case, Shaw v. Reno, 517 U.S. 899 (1995), the Supreme Court ruled that the 12th district of North Carolina as drawn was unconstitutional because it was created for the purpose of placing African Americans in one district, thereby constituting illegal racial gerrymandering. The Court ordered the state of North Carolina to redraw the boundaries of the district.

In this follow-up case, the Supreme Court ruled that the state was able to justify the new boundaries of the 12th district by showing that it was intended to create a safe seat for Democrats, and therefore the redrawn district was a constitutional example of political gerrymandering. Justice O'Connor acted as the swing vote, satisfied with the change in reasoning since Shaw v. Reno.

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