| Bush v. Vera | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued December 5, 1995 Decided June 13, 1996 | |
| Full case name | George W. Bush, Governor of Texas, et al., Appellants v. Vera, et al.; Lawson, et al. v. Vera |
| Citations | 517 U.S. 952 (more) 116 S. Ct. 1941; 135 L. Ed. 2d 248 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, sub nom. Vera v. Richards, 861 F. Supp. 1304 (1994) |
| Subsequent | 980 F. Supp. 254 |
| Holding | |
| In its 1991 congressional redistricting scheme, Texas subordinated race-neutral, traditional districting considerations to racial factors. This subjected the racially discriminatory plan to strict scrutiny under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the districting plan was deemed not narrowly tailored to meet a compelling state interest. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Plurality | O'Connor, joined by Rehnquist, Kennedy |
| Concurrence | O'Connor |
| Concurrence | Kennedy |
| Concurrence | Thomas (in judgment), joined by Scalia |
| Dissent | Stevens, joined by Ginsburg, Breyer |
| Dissent | Souter, joined by Ginsburg, Breyer |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend. XIV, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, 42 U.S.C. § 1973; Texas Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., 2nd C.S., Chap. 7 | |
Bush v. Vera, 517 U.S. 952 (1996), is a United States Supreme Court case concerning racial gerrymandering, where racial minority majority-electoral districts were created during Texas' 1990 redistricting to increase minority Congressional representation. The Supreme Court, in a plurality opinion, held that race was the predominant factor in the creation of the districts and that under a strict scrutiny standard the three districts were not narrowly tailored to further a compelling governmental interest.