1004
Stevens, J., dissenting
focuses exclusively on the role that race played in the State's decisions to adjust the shape of its districts. A quick comparison of the unconstitutional majority-minority districts with three equally bizarre majority-Anglo districts, compare ante, at Appendixes A-C, with infra, at Appendixes A-C, demonstrates that race was not necessarily the predominant factor contorting the district lines. I would follow the fair implications of the District Court's findings,1 and conclude that Texas' entire map is a political, not a racial, gerrymander.2 See Part IV, infra.
Even if strict scrutiny applies, I would find these districts constitutional, for each considers race only to the extent necessary to comply with the State's responsibilities under the Voting Rights Act while achieving other race-neutral political and geographical requirements. The plurality's finding to the contrary unnecessarily restricts the ability of States to conform their behavior to the Voting Rights Act while simultaneously complying with other race-neutral goals. See Part V, infra.
Second, even if I concluded that these districts failed an appropriate application of this still-developing law to appropriately read facts, I would not uphold the District Court decision. The decisions issued today serve merely to rein-1 The District Court recognized, but erroneously ignored, the overwhelming weight of evidence demonstrating that political considerations dominated the shaping of Texas' congressional districts. See Vera v. Richards, 861 F. Supp. 1304, 1331, 1334-1336 (SD Tex. 1994); infra, at 1027-1029.
2 Because I believe that political gerrymanders are more objectionable than the "racial gerrymanders" perceived by the Court in recent cases, see Karcher v. Daggett, 462 U. S. 725, 748 (1983) (Stevens, J., concurring); Davis v. Bandemer, 478 U. S. 109, 161-162, 166 (1986) (Powell, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part), I am not entirely unsympathetic to the Court's holding. I believe, however, that the evils of political gerry-mandering should be confronted directly, rather than through the race-specific approach that the Court has taken in recent years. See also infra, at 1038-1040.
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