Opinion ID: 1151125
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Geographic Compactness

Text: We examine first the requirement that the minority be geographically compact ( Thornburg, supra, 478 U.S. at p. 50 [92 L.Ed.2d at p. 46]). There is little case law interpreting this phrase. We believe that the key to its meaning lies in the view, expressed in Thornburg, that Congress intended the determination of a section 2 violation to `depend[] upon a searching practical evaluation of the past and present reality... and on a functional view of the political process (478 U.S. at p. 45 [92 L.Ed.2d at p. 43], quoting from the Senate report). The court in Dillard v. Baldwin County Bd. of Educ. (M.D.Ala. 1988) 686 F. Supp. 1459, seized upon this passage from Thornburg in holding that the prerequisite of geographical compactness was met by a minority group who lived within an irregular strip of land, just inland from Mobile Bay, which appears to be approximately 20 miles long and, at some points, less than a mile wide. As the Dillard court explained, [t]he degree of geographical symmetry or attractiveness is ... a desirable consideration for districting, but only to the extent it aids or facilitates the political process.... [¶] ... For example, a district would not be sufficiently compact if it was so spread out that there was no sense of community, that is, if its members and its representatives could not effectively and efficiently stay in touch with each other; or if it was so convoluted that there was no sense of community, that is, if its members and its representative could not easily tell who actually lived in the district.... [B]ecause compactness is a functional concept, the number and kinds of factors a court should consider may vary with each case, depending on the local geographical, political, and socioeconomic characteristics of the jurisdiction being sued. ( Id. at p. 1466.) We fully agree with this functional view of geographical compactness. Accordingly, in the context of statewide redistricting in California, particularly in rural areas where considerations of communication and access are of considerable importance, section 2 need not control formulation of plans where minority voters are not, functionally, geographically compact.