City of Lockhart v. United States et al. (460 U.S. 125)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided February 23, 1983 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 460 U.S. 125 · 103 S. Ct. 998
- Decided
- February 23, 1983
- Term
- October Term 1982
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority author
- Justice Powell
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Powell delivered the opinion of the Court. This case requires us to consider the application of § 5 of the Voting Rights Act to the election plan adopted by appellant City of Lockhart in 1973. HH The City of Lockhart is a community of just under 8,000 people in Caldwell County, Texas, 30 miles south of Austin. According to the most recent census figures, almost 47% of the city’s population are Mexican-American. As of 1977, however, fewer than 30% of the city’s registered voters were Mexican-American. Before 1973, Lockhart was a “general law” city. Under Texas law, general-law cities have only those powers that the State specifically permits them to possess. As authorized by state law, Lockhart was governed by a commission consisting of a mayor and two commissioners, all serving the same 2-year terms. These offices were filled in April of even-numbered years through at-large elections using a “numbered post” system. Under this system, the two commissioner posts were designated by number, and each candidate for commissioner specified the post for which he or she sought election. Thus each race was effectively a separate election for a separate office. In 1973, Lockhart adopted a new charter and became a “home rule” city. In contrast to a general-law city, a home-rule city has authority to do whatever is not specifically prohibited by the State. This includes discretion…
Excerpt of a 46,449-character opinion. The full text and citation network load in the interactive viewer above.