In the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama Northern Division
Case 2:12-cv-00691-WKW-MHT-WHP Document 203 Filed 12/20/13 Page 1 of 173 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA NORTHERN DIVISION ALABAMA LEGISLATIVE ) BLACK CAUCUS, et al., ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) CASE NO. 2:12-CV-691 v. ) (Three-Judge Court) ) THE STATE OF ALABAMA, et al., ) ) Defendants. ) __________________________________ ) ) ALABAMA DEMOCRATIC ) CONFERENCE, et al., ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) CASE NO. 2:12-CV-1081 v. ) (Three-Judge Court) ) THE STATE OF ALABAMA, et al., ) ) Defendants. ) MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Before PRYOR, Circuit Judge, WATKINS, Chief District Judge, and THOMPSON, District Judge. PRYOR, Circuit Judge: “There’s no perfect reapportionment plan. A reapportionment plan depends on what the drafter wants to get, and he can draw them many, many, many ways.” Dr. Joe Reed, Chairman, Alabama Democratic Conference. (Trial Tr. vol. 2, 155, Aug. 9, 2013). Case 2:12-cv-00691-WKW-MHT-WHP Document 203 Filed 12/20/13 Page 2 of 173 The Constitution of Alabama of 1901 requires the Alabama Legislature to redistrict itself following each decennial census of the United States, Ala. Const. Art. IX, §§ 199–200, but for a half century—from 1911 to 1961—the Legislature failed to fulfill that duty. Then the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that this abdication could be tolerated no longer, and it affirmed the judgment of this Court that the Alabama Legislature had to be apportioned after each census based on the principle of one person, one vote. Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533, 568, 586, 84 S. Ct. 1362, 1385, 1394 (1964).
[Show full text]