Cite as: 517 U. S. 899 (1996)
Stevens, J., dissenting
§§ 2, 5 (1984). Given that numerous States have written geographical compactness requirements into their State Constitutions, North Carolina's omission on this score is noteworthy. See Grofman, Criteria for Districting: A Social Science Perspective, 33 UCLA L. Rev. 77, 84 (1985). It reveals that North Carolina's creation of a geographically noncompact district does not itself mark a deviation from any prevailing state districting principle.12 Thus, while the serpentine character of District 12 may give rise to an inference that traditional districting principles were subordinated to race in determining its boundaries, it cannot fairly be said to prove that conclusion in light of the clear evidence demonstrating race-neutral explanations for the district's tortured shape. See infra, at 936-937.
There is a more fundamental flaw in the majority's conclusion that racial concerns predominantly explain the creation of District 12. The evidence of shape and intent relied on by the majority cannot overcome the basic fact that North Carolina did not have to draw Districts 1 and 12 in order to comply with the Justice Department's finding that federal law required the creation of two majority-minority districts. That goal could have been more straightfor-that the state-law prohibition against dividing counties in formulating state electoral districts was eliminated in the 1980's. See Legislator's Guide to North Carolina Legislative and Congressional Redistricting 12 (Feb. 1991).
12 Indeed, the State's guide to redistricting specifically informed state legislators that compactness was of little legal significance. "Neither the State nor federal constitution requires districts to be compact. Critics often refer to the lack of compactness of a particular district or group of districts as a sign of gerrymandering, but no court has ever struck down a plan merely on the basis that it did not appear to be compact. Although there are geometric methods for measuring the compactness of an area, these methods have not been recognized as judicial standards for evaluating the compactness of districts.
"The recent decision in Davis v. Bandemer . . . mentions irregularly-shaped districts as a possible sign of gerrymandering but makes clear that irregular shapes alone do not invalidate a redistricting plan." Ibid.
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