Supreme Court of the United States
Georgia v. Ashcroft
June 26, 2003539 U.S. 461
Summary
The Court held that the District Court erred in its § 5 retrogression analysis by focusing too narrowly on specific districts rather than the statewide plan as a whole. The Court clarified that § 5 permits States to create influence districts even if it reduces the ability to elect candidates of choice in some districts, provided overall voting strength is not retrogressive. Justice Souter dissented, arguing the new standard is unadministrable and the District Court did not clearly err.