Federal Judicial Center Operational Status:

Due to a lapse in appropriations, the Federal Judicial Center (Center) has ceased all non-excepted activities until funding is restored.

The Center will post any changes in operational status on this web page. Please check back for updates.

Malapportioned Districts in an Election Held Soon After the Release of New Census Data

Robert Timothy Reagan, Margaret S. Williams, Marie Leary, Catherine R. Borden, Jessica L. Snowden, Patricia D. Breen, Jason A. Cantone

June 8, 2023

Graves v. City of Montgomery (W. Keith Watkins, M.D. Ala. 2:11-cv-557)
Six weeks and one day before a planned August 23, 2011, election, a federal complaint alleged that city-council districts were malapportioned because they had not been redrawn to reflect the 2010 census. The district judge denied immediate relief and ultimately ruled that redistricting—which the evidence showed to be a work in progress—was not yet required.
Subject: District lines. Topics: Malapportionment; laches.

One of many Case Studies in Emergency Election Litigation.

You are here

Malapportioned Districts in an Election Held Soon After the Release of New Census Data