Opinion ID: 551345
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The County's Claim of Reverse Discrimination

Text: 55 The County argues that, by deliberately creating a district with a Hispanic majority, the district court engaged in discrimination in favor of a minority group of the type forbidden by City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co., 488 U.S. 469, 109 S.Ct. 706, 102 L.Ed.2d 854 (1989). It claims to have had a valid defense based upon the district court's creation of an equal protection violation in order to establish a Section 2 claim. The district court erred, it contends, in refusing to address this constitutional defense. 56 The County makes no suggestion, however, that the redistricting plan somehow dilutes the voting strength of the Anglo community. The deliberate construction of minority controlled voting districts is exactly what the Voting Rights Act authorizes. Such districting, whether worked by a court or by a political entity in the first instance, does not violate the constitution. United Jewish Organizations v. Carey, 430 U.S. 144, 97 S.Ct. 996, 51 L.Ed.2d 229 (1977). For that reason, the district court properly refused to consider the appellants' constitutional defense.