US Supreme Court sides with Democrats, says electoral maps must be reviewed for racial bias

The US Supreme Court today came down on the side of Democrats who charged that certain US electoral districts in Virginia were drawn to dilute the influence of black voters.

The high court found that a lower court had erred in finding that race was not a dominant factor in drawing Virginia's electoral map.Democratic lawyers had argued that racial criteria were used to pack 11 districts with African American voters, thereby increasing the proportion of white majorities in other districts.

The justices were swayed by the argument, instructing the lower court to reconsider its finding, taking into account whether or not Virginia's method of drawing the electoral map is constitutional. The decision was written by Justice Anthony Kennedy on behalf of Chief Justice John Roberts and the court's four liberal justices. Justice Samuel Alito wrote a concurring opinion, and Justice Clarence Thomas wrote an opinion that dissented in part with the majority.