A decades-old legal battle over racial gerrymandering reveals how isolated dissent can be on the nation's highest court, even when the underlying principle seems straightforward.
In 1977, a lone voice argued that using race to redraw districts crossed a constitutional line. The argument was direct: manipulating electoral maps based on race, no matter the intent, violated fundamental principles of equal protection and fair representation.
Chief Justice Warren Burger stood alone in that position. Every other justice disagreed.
The case arrived at a moment when civil rights enforcement was intensifying. Courts were ordering states to remedy past discrimination, and redistricting became a tool to increase minority representation. The practice gained momentum, rooted in the logic that race-conscious solutions were necessary to counteract race-conscious wrongs.
But one jurist saw danger in the remedy itself. The argument against racial gerrymandering was not that increasing minority voting strength was wrong, but that using race as the primary sorting mechanism for districts was constitutionally suspect regardless of motive. The concern was whether courts should endorse any racial classification in voting districts, or whether fairness demanded a color-blind approach to electoral boundaries.
The dissent went nowhere at the time. The majority position prevailed, and race-conscious redistricting became standard practice across the country for decades. States used racial data extensively to craft districts designed to elect minority-preferred candidates.
What began as a 9-1 split in the 1970s would eventually shift. Later courts revisited the question, and the constitutional concerns that Burger had voiced alone found new traction. The legal landscape around racial gerrymandering continued to evolve, proving that even isolated dissents can eventually reshape doctrine.
Author James Rodriguez: "Sometimes the most prescient voices on the Supreme Court are the ones speaking to an empty room."
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