Bryant v. Lawrence County, Miss., Civ. A. No. 2:91cv152 (P)(N).

• Decision Date: 03 March 1993
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 2:91cv152 (P)(N).
• Citation: 814 F. Supp. 1346
• Parties: Eugene BRYANT, et al., Plaintiffs, v. LAWRENCE COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Mississippi

814 F. Supp. 1346

Eugene BRYANT, et al., Plaintiffs, v. LAWRENCE COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI, et al., Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 2:91cv152 (P)(N).

United States District Court, S.D. Mississippi, Hattiesburg Division.

March 3, 1993.

Ellis Turnage, Cleveland, MS, for plaintiffs.

Malcolm Rogers, Monticello, MS, for defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

PICKERING, District Judge.

In the above styled nonjury case, the Court heard testimony for two days on October 20 and 21, 1992, and then from the bench ordered that a bi-racial committee be formed to try to resolve this matter. The Court reserved ruling on this matter for forty days in hopes that this matter would be resolved by the citizens of Lawrence County; the Committee was unable to reach a solution acceptable to the parties.¹ The Court had the parties back for a status conference, however, the parties still did not resolve this matter. After careful consideration of all of the evidence presented at trial, oral arguments of the parties and the briefs submitted on behalf of each party, this Court finds as follows:

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

In 1984, black citizens brought a voting rights action against Lawrence County, which resulted in a compromise submitted to and pre-cleared by the Justice Department. Although the parties thought that District 5 of Lawrence County, as agreed to, had an overall black population of 57.9%, it only had an overall black population of approximately 54.4%. See Defendants' Exhibits 3 and 4. On July 31, 1991, the present action was filed challenging the 1984 Plan. The 1984 Plan was challenged on the basis of (1) one-man, one-vote, and (2) Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. On or about August 26, 1991, Lawrence County submitted to the Justice Department for pre-clearance a new plan. On September 5, 1991, just twelve days before the regular quadrennial primary was held, the Plaintiffs filed a Motion for Preliminary Injunction, which was not otherwise pursued. This motion was filed well after the deadline for qualifying for office and during the middle of quadrennial campaigning. No request was made for a hearing on the Motion for a Preliminary Injunction.

Although District 5 had an overall black population of some 54.4%, a 50.5% black voting age population, and had a black candidate for supervisor, a white candidate was elected Supervisor in that beat. Well after the election was over, in July, 1992, the Plaintiffs amended their complaint to challenge the 1991 Plan. This Plan was pre-cleared by the Justice Department on August 10, 1992. The new pre-cleared plan establishes one clear black majority district (i.e., District 5, with a 65.2% total black population and with a 60.5% black voting age population) and two impact districts (i.e., District 2 with a 43.7% total black population and District 4 with a 34.9% total black population). The one-man, one-vote issue is now moot except as it might relate to the question of ordering special elections.

The 1991 Lawrence County Redistricting Plan, which was pre-cleared by the Justice Department on August 10, 1992, is constituted as follows:

                                                  PERCENTAGE
                          TOTAL       BLACK       BLACK
                DISTRICT  POPULATION  POPULATION  POPULATION
                1          2658        441        16.6%
                2          2442       1066        43.7%
                3          2413        162         6.7%
                4          2425        847        34.9%
                5          2520       1642        65.2%
                          _____       ____        _____
                TOTALS    12,458      4158        33.4%
                

The black population in District 5 was increased from 54.4% to 65.2%. This increase in the black population of District 5 was in response to a request from minority voters. Some minority voters at one point requested that this district be increased to 70% or more. On other occasions some black citizens requested that two black majority districts be created. The Board of Supervisors considered these requests along with other considerations taken into account in redistricting and developed the plan submitted to the Justice Department on August 26, 1991. It is to be noted that redistricting was occurring while the 1991 election campaigns were taking place.

Although Lawrence County submitted a redistricting plan for the Board of Supervisors and Election Commission districts, as set out above, it has not submitted a new plan to the Justice Department in regard to the two Justice Court districts. Thus, the 1984 Plan is challenged in regard to Justice Court districts. The 1990 Census shows that the Justice Court districts, as pre-cleared and agreed upon in 1984, have black/white populations as follows:

                                                  Other &  % of Other
                        Tot.   White  % of White   Black    & Black
                Dist.    Pop.  Pop.   Population    Pop.   Population
                North   5998   3356     56.0%       2642      44.0%
                South   6460   4944     76.5%       1516      23.5%
                       ______  ____     _____       ____      _____
                Total  12,458  8300     66.6        4158      33.4%
                

COMPACTNESS

The Plaintiffs contend even though the 1991 Plan has been pre-cleared that nevertheless it violates the "results test" of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The first question presented to this Court is does the 1991 Plan pre-cleared by the Justice Department violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act? Although the Defendants obtained pre-clearance, such pre-clearance does not preclude the Plaintiffs from challenging the Plan under Section 2. Gunn v. Chickasaw County, Mississippi, 705 F.Supp. 315, 321 (N.D.Miss.1989); Martin v. Allain, 658 F.Supp. 1183, 1200 (S.D.Miss.1987). This is true even though the Attorney General could have withheld Section 5 pre-clearance if he had found that such redistricting plan constituted a clear violation of Section 2. See 28 C.F.R. § 51.55(b)(2) (1990).

According to Thornburg v. Gingles, 478 U.S. 30, 106 S.Ct. 2752, 92 L.Ed.2d 25 (1986), three necessary preconditions must be met for the Plaintiffs to prevail in a Section 2 Voting Rights claim:

(1) that the minority group is sufficiently large and geographically compact to constitute a majority in a single-member district;

(2) that the minority group is politically cohesive; and

(3) that a bloc-voting white majority usually defeats the minority's preferred candidate.

Id. at 50-51, 106 S.Ct. at 2766. The Court finds that even though the Plaintiffs presented sufficient evidence to satisfy the second and third preconditions of Thornburg,² the Plaintiffs failed to satisfy the first precondition that must be met for a Section 2 claim.

According to evidence presented at trial and more specifically, Plaintiffs' Exhibit P-36, the Court finds that although the minority population of Lawrence County may be sufficiently large enough, it is not geographically compact enough, to constitute a majority in two single-member supervisory districts. As seen in P-36, the minority population of Lawrence County is dispersed throughout the county. Therefore, the Court finds that there is only enough minority population sufficiently large and geographically compact to constitute a majority in one single-member district.

The proposed Plan as set forth by the Plaintiffs, which shows two single-member supervisory districts with black majorities, is drawn to maximize black voting as testified to by the Plaintiffs' experts and is directly based on the proportion of the minority population. The Plaintiffs' experts testified that the criteria which they used in drafting the Plaintiffs' plan was to maximize the black voting strength and to create two black districts. They did this without regard to natural geographic boundaries, splitting of precincts, and apparently with no other consideration other than maximizing the black voting strength. There was testimony that black voters were split on whether they wanted their communities divided in this manner.

The Defendants submitted testimony that the Plaintiffs' plan would significantly divide different communities of interest, split numerous precincts and create a difficult situation in certain areas because beat lines would cross the Pearl River at places where there are no bridges and thus, would require road equipment to traverse considerable distances through other beats to get on the other side of the river. Lawrence County operates under a beat system whereby each supervisor has a road crew and separate machinery to maintain the roads in his or her beat.

As shown in Plaintiffs' Exhibit P-16 and P-36, the Plaintiffs' proposed supervisory plan does not reflect reasonably compact districts. District 3 is an odd contortion of a district which reaches down to get a pocket of white voters in the south-east-central part of the county and then curves around to the west and then back to the north-east corner of the county crossing the Pearl River in at least one point where there are no bridges. See P-16. District 3 represents a distorted district where beat lines are twisted in an attempt to make that a district of almost all white voters. Id. District 1 and 2 do the same thing to capture black voters within those districts, although these district lines are not as distorted. Id. District 2 also crosses the Pearl River at a point where there are no bridges.

The Fifth Circuit recognized in Washington v. Tensas Parish School Bd, 819 F.2d 609, 612 (5th Cir.1987) that "in drawing constitutionally and statutorily acceptable districts, the court should adhere to considerations of `compactness, contiguousness and the preservation of boundaries,' and the court should not post as its primary goal `racially balanced representation.'"

Furthermore other courts have recognized that districts should be reasonably compact and contiguous. For example, in Jeffers v. Clinton, 730 F.Supp. 196, 217 (E.D.Ark. 1989), order aff'd, 498 U.S. 1019, 111 S.Ct. 662, 112 L.Ed.2d 656 (1991) the court recognized that in drawing lines for new districts the lines should be drawn "so as to make them...