N.C. State Conf. of NAACP v. Moore

Summary

The court held that a legislature containing a substantial number of members elected from conclusively unconstitutional racial-gerrymandered districts was not automatically authorized to initiate constitutional amendments, even though the amendments received the required legislative votes and voter ratification. The claim was justiciable, and the de facto officer doctrine preserved ordinary legislative acts but did not categorically shield constitutional-amendment proposals from review. The court reversed and remanded for an evidentiary hearing applying a multi-factor test to determine whether the amendments threatened popular sovereignty and democratic self-rule.