Tennant v. Jefferson County Commission (2011)
- Docket
- 11-1184
- Decided
- 2011-01-01
Summary
Question: Does the population disparity in West Virginia's apportionment of voting districts violate Article I Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution? Conclusion: No. The Court, in a per curiam opinion, reversed the district court's decision. The Court held that the lower court failed to defer to West Virginia's reasonable exercise of political judgment. Even though the state could have chosen a re-districting plan with less of a population disparity, none of the other plans satisfied the state's legitimate objectives. Therefore, the minor disparity in population was justified to achieve those objectives.