Escambia County, Florida, et al. v. Mcmillan et al. (466 U.S. 48)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided March 27, 1984 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 466 U.S. 48 · 104 S. Ct. 1577
- Decided
- March 27, 1984
- Term
- October Term 1983
- Vote
- 8–1
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Per Curiam. This appeal presents questions as to the appropriate standards of proof and appropriate remedy in suits that allege a violation of voting rights secured by the Fourteenth Amendment. We do not reach these questions, however, as it appears that the judgment under review may rest alternatively upon a statutory ground of decision. I Appellees, black voters of Escambia County, Fla., filed suit in the District Court, alleging that the at-large system for electing the five members of the Board of County Commissioners violated appellees’ rights under the First, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, the Civil Rights Act of 1957, 71 Stat. 637, as amended, 42 U. S. C. § 1971(a)(1), and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, 79 Stat. 437, as amended, 42 U. S. C. § 1973. Appellees contended that the at-large system operated to “dilute” their voting strength. See, e. g., Rogers v. Lodge, 458 U. S. 613, 616-617 (1982). The District Court entered judgment for appellees. That court found that the at-large system used by the county discriminated against black voters and had been retained at least in part for discriminatory purposes. The court concluded that the system violated appellees’ rights under the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments and the Voting Rights Act. The District Court ordered that the five commissioners be elected from single-member districts. The Court of…
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