Harris v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Comm'n (14-232)
argument 14-232Harris v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Comm'n
Supreme Court of the United States
59 min
5 speakers
8 chapters
transcribed 6 days ago
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Transcript
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What is the one‑person‑one‑vote principle and how does it apply to Arizona’s redistricting?
We'll hear argument first this morning in case fourteen two thirty two, Harris versus the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. Mr. Hand?
Thank you, Mr Chief Justice, and may it please the court The one person, one vote principle of the equal protection clause requires an apportionment authority to make a good faith effort to equally apportion the population as as practically as possible. And while deviations are tolerated, they are only minor deviations made for legitimate purposes of a rational state policy intended not to be discriminatory or arbitrary. Here, the Arizona Redistricting Commission malapportioned Arizona's state legislature by almost ten percent, eight point eight percent, and the district court below found it did so for two reasons. The first reason was to obtain a partisan advantage for the Democrat Party. The second reason was a perceived belief that
malapportioned districts were necessary to obtain Justice Department preclearance approval. Neither of these reasons justifies a deviation from the constitutional principle of one person, one vote.
Do you want us to overturn the factual finding? that compliance with the Voting Rights Act, with the pre clearance procedures, was the reason real reason for the deviation. Do you want us to overturn that as a factual finding?
No, I don't as a factual finding. But when you say, Justice Kennedy, uh the pre clearance uh uh t obtaining Voting Rights Act compliance, we have said, as we've noted in the briefing, it was not necessary to underpopulate districts to obtain compliance with the Voting Rights Act.
May I ask you a a question um It's it's odd that you're making this Charge. uh is that the there was a an impermissible effort to increase the democratic uh authority power in the legislature, but the end result was that the Araba Arizona plan gave Republicans more than their proportionate share of seats. in the state legislature and I think the numbers are In total, Republicans won fifty six point six percent of the state Senate seats, sixty percent of the state house seats And that exceeded the Republican Party's statewide registration share of fifty four. Point four percent. So was it an attempt? To stack this in favor of Democrats it certainly failed.
Well we would say uh uh Your Honor that a a incompetent gerrymander is no less a gerrymander when it unequally apportions the population than a competent gerrymander that obtained the partisan objective. I think the objective that we are trying to achieve here is the one person, one vote standard. And that's why whatever the ultimate political outcome, I don't think that vindicates the fact that these are unequally apportioned.
It's still not clear to me what what you want us to say ab about the the Commission's rationale. for compliance and voting rights that compliance. That was wrong as a matter of law? Because if you don't overturn the factual finding that they had a a a good faith belief that what they were doing is correct, then then you have then you have a problem, it seems to me. Or do you have a problem?
I don't believe I do because I think it's not the good faith b uh what the district court found was that their advisor told them you can depopulate districts up to ten percent. And in fact you should do that because you need to create these underpopulated minority districts to obtain preclearance. That is wrong. The Voting Rights Act does not command, does not compel require underpopulated districts to obtain preclearance. The Solicitor General's noted that as well in their briefing and the Justice Department guidelines.
How confident are you of that? I mean the the pre clearance process at the Department of Justice is famously opaque uh and and usually the states and municipalities uh have to go through or had to go through several layers of back and forth. Here's a proposal, it's sort of a bargaining process. I don't know how confident you can be that uh that it wasn't necessary.
We certainly agree that the pre clearance process was very opaque, as you said, Mr.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the one‑person‑one‑vote principle and how does it apply to Arizona’s redistricting?
0:00–7:37
2
Why does the Commission argue that the Voting Rights Act justified population deviations?
7:37–15:03
3
How do the parties frame the factual findings about partisan advantage and pre‑clearance?
15:03–22:27
4
What legal standards (Mount Healthy, Arlington Heights) govern mixed‑motive redistricting cases?
22:27–30:08
5
When is a population deviation considered ‘de minimis’ and constitutionally permissible?
30:08–36:51
6
Does partisanship itself violate the Equal Protection Clause in redistricting?
36:51–45:02
7
How do the Justices reconcile the ten‑percent rule with claims of unconstitutional partisan gerrymandering?
45:02–52:14
8
What is the Court’s ultimate conclusion on the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission’s map?
52:14–59:51