Cite as: 521 U. S. 74 (1997)
Breyer, J., dissenting
lion, supra. Thus, given today's suit, a legislator might reasonably wonder whether he can ever knowingly place racial minorities in a district because, for example, he considers them part of a "community" already there; because he thinks doing so will favor the Democrats (or the Republicans); because he wants to help an African-American incumbent; because he believes doing so will encourage participation in the political process by racial minorities in whom historical discrimination has induced apathy; because he believes that doing so will help those same voters secure representatives that better reflect their needs and desires; or simply because he wants to see more racial minorities elected to office in a Nation that has become increasingly diverse.
The Court has not said that the Constitution forbids the use of race in all these instances. See Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Peña, 515 U. S. 200, 237 (1995); see also Shaw v. Reno, supra, at 646-647; Miller, supra, at 920; Bush, supra, at 1004 (Stevens, J., dissenting); Wygant v. Jackson Bd. of Ed., 476 U. S., at 280; Richmond v. J. A. Croson Co., 488 U. S. 469, 493-494 (1989). If the use of race as a criterion is wrong in some, but not all, of these instances, the legislator will need to know when, and why. And the legislator will need a legal principle that tells him whether, or when, the answers to such questions vary depending upon whether the group is racial or reflects, say, economics, education, or national origin. Miller, supra, at 944-945 (Ginsburg, J., dissenting). It seems particularly difficult—without the use of some guiding or limiting principle, such as intent, vote dilution, or even bizarre district shape—to find principled legal answers to what, in the redistricting context, are traditionally political questions.
The decision also increases the risk of significant judicial entanglement in the inherently political redistricting process. See, e. g., Bush, supra, at 1035-1040 (Stevens, J., dissenting); Miller, supra, at 934-935 (Ginsburg, J., dissenting); see also Growe v. Emison, 507 U. S. 25, 33-34 (1993);
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