Clara Faatz v. John Ashcroft, Missouri Secretary of State

Summary

The Court affirmed the judgment upholding Missouri's Senate redistricting map. It held that the appellants had standing but failed to preserve an equal-population challenge and did not preserve a challenge to the judgment's use of a reasonableness standard. The Court further held that the Constitution prioritizes compactness over community preservation, permits mathematical measures of compactness, places the burden on challengers to prove a clear constitutional violation, and does not require the Judicial Commission to remain a party or respond to discovery.