City of Pleasant Grove v. United States (479 U.S. 462)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided January 21, 1987 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 479 U.S. 462 · 107 S. Ct. 794
- Decided
- January 21, 1987
- Term
- October Term 1986
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority author
- Justice White
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice White delivered the opinion of the Court. Appellant, Pleasant Grove, a city in Alabama that until recently had an all-white population, is covered by §5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, 79 Stat. 439, as amended, 42 U. S. C. § 1973c, and accordingly must seek preclearance before instituting any change in a standard, practice, or procedure affecting voting. Appellant unsuccessfully sought preclearance by the Attorney General for the annexation of two parcels of land, one vacant and the other inhabited by a few whites. Appellant also failed to convince a three-judge District Court that the annexations did not have the purpose of abridging or denying the right to vote on account of race. We noted probable jurisdiction, 476 U. S. 1113 (1986), and now affirm. HH Appellant, whose population numbers approximately 7,000, was described by the District Court as “an all-white enclave in an otherwise racially mixed area of Alabama.” 568 F. Supp. 1455, 1456 (DC 1983). The city has a long history of racial discrimination. The District Court’s opinions chronicle the city’s past discriminatory practices in some detail, and we will not repeat that history fully here. See 623 F. Supp. 782, 787-788 (DC 1985); 568 F. Supp., at 1456-1457. Suffice it to say that in housing, zoning, hiring, and school policies appellant’s officials have shown unambiguous opposition to racial integration,…
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