Easley v. Cromartie
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Easley v. Cromartie, 532 US 234 (2001) was a U.S. Supreme Court case. The court's ruling on April 18, 2001 stated that redistricting for political reasons did not violate Federal Civil Rights Law banning race-based gerrymandering. (Case No. 99-1864).
The High Court held in the case that as Southern blacks tend to vote for the Democratic Party, North Carolina's 12th Congressional District was drawn based upon voting behavior, instead of upon racial characteristics. The odd-shaped district was allowed, the Court ruled, to stand. Critics of this ruling found this to be a case of judicial nitpicking and that the Court had in essence allowed the previously-banned practice of concentrating a racial group into a single district.