NC NAACP v. Moore

Summary

The court held that the challenge to amendments proposed by a legislature containing legislators elected from conclusively unconstitutional racial gerrymanders was justiciable and presented a constitutional question. It ruled that the de facto officer doctrine presumptively protects ordinary legislative acts but does not automatically shield constitutional-amendment proposals when the challenged legislators may have been decisive. The court reversed and remanded for findings applying a threshold decisiveness inquiry and three substantive factors concerning entrenchment, voter exclusion, and discriminatory treatment.