Gomillion v. Lightfoot (1960)
- Docket
- 32
- Decided
- 1960-01-01
- Category
- General
Summary
Question: Did the redrawing of Tuskegee's electoral district boundaries violate the Fifteenth Amendment? Conclusion: A state violates the Fifteenth Amendment when it constructs boundary lines between electoral districts for the purpose of denying equal representation to African Americans. The unanimous Court held that the Alabama legislature violated the Fifteenth Amendment. Justice Frankfurter admitted that states are insulated from judicial review when they exercise power "wholly within the domain of state interest." However, in this case, Alabama's representatives were unable to identify "any countervailing municipal function" the act was designed to serve. The Court believed that the irregularly shaped district was drawn with only one purpose in mind: to deprive blacks of political power.