Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/18pdf/18-422_9ol1.pdf
Page Number: 39

34 

RUCHO v. COMMON CAUSE 

Opinion of the Court 

the  reach  of  its  competence.    But  we  have  no  commission 
to allocate political power and influence in the absence of a 
constitutional  directive  or  legal  standards  to  guide  us  in 
the  exercise  of  such  authority.    “It  is  emphatically  the
province  and  duty  of  the  judicial  department  to  say  what
the  law  is.”  Marbury  v.  Madison,  1  Cranch,  at  177.    In 
this rare circumstance, that means our duty is to say “this
is not law.” 

The  judgments  of  the  United  States  District  Court  for 
the  Middle  District  of  North  Carolina  and  the  United 
States  District  Court  for  the  District  of  Maryland  are
vacated,  and  the  cases  are  remanded  with  instructions  to 
dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. 

It is so ordered.