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On Monday, June 22, the Supreme Court announced its decision in Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Holder. In this case, the Supreme Court considered whether Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One was eligible to be bailed out from coverage under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, or, failing that, whether Section 5 should be struck down as unconstitutional. In an 8-1 decision delivered by Chief Justice Roberts, the Court reversed the district court by holding that Northwest Austin is eligible to be bailed out from Section 5 coverage and remanded the case for further proceedings, thus avoiding the question of whether the 2006 extension of Section 5 was an unconstitutional exercise of Congress’s remedial powers under the Reconstruction Amendments. Sharon Browne, a principal attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation, discusses the decision.

 

 

 

Oral Argument - April 29, 2009:
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/08-322.pdf

 

Decision - June 22, 2009:
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/08pdf/08-322.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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