Cite as: 532 U. S. 234 (2001)
Thomas, J., dissenting
sumption about which I have my doubts,2 these considerations would not counsel against deference in this action. The trial was not "just a few hours" long, Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc., 466 U. S. 485, 500 (1984); it lasted for three days in which the court heard the testimony of 12 witnesses. And quite apart from the total trial time, the District Court sifted through hundreds of pages of deposition testimony and expert analysis, including statistical analysis. It also should not be forgotten that one member of the panel has reviewed the iterations of District 12 since 1992. If one were to calibrate clear error review according to the trier of fact's familiarity with the case, there is simply no question that the court here gained a working knowledge of the facts of this litigation in myriad ways over a period far longer than three days.
Third, the Court downplays deference to the District Court's finding by highlighting that the key evidence was expert testimony requiring no traditional credibility determinations. See ante, at 243. As a factual matter, the Court overlooks the District Court's express assessment of the legislative redistricting leader's credibility. See Cromartie v. Hunt, 133 F. Supp. 2d 407, 419, 420, n. 8 (EDNC 2000). It is also likely that the court's interpretation of the e-mail written by Gerry Cohen, the primary drafter of District 12, was influenced by its evaluation of Cohen as a witness. See id., at 420, n. 8. See also App. 261-268. And, as a legal matter, the Court's emphasis on the technical nature of the
2 Bose, which the Court cites to support its discounting of clear error review, ante, at 243, does state that "the likelihood that the appellate court will rely on the presumption [of correctness of factual findings] tends to increase when trial judges have lived with the controversy for weeks or months instead of just a few hours." 466 U. S., at 500. It is unclear, however, what bearing this statement of fact—that appellate courts will defer to factual findings more often when the trial was long—had on our understanding of the scope of clear error review. In Bose, we held that a lower court's "actual malice" finding must be reviewed de novo, see id., at 514, not that clear error review must be calibrated to the length of trial.
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