-
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
The Supreme1 Court upholds the provision prohibiting racial gerrymandering
NPR's Michel Martin talks to UCLA Law professor Rick Hasen about the decision to strike down Alabama's congressional map limiting the power of Black voters. The ruling could affect other states.
A MART?NEZ, HOST:
More than a quarter of Alabama residents are Black, and many are Democrats4. The thing is, only one of the state's seven congressional districts is represented by a Black Democrat3. The rest of the delegation5 is made up of white Republicans, but that's likely to change in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling requiring Alabama to redraw its congressional district map and give Black voters more power. For more on the implications of yesterday's decision, we called UCLA law professor Rick Hasen, who has written extensively about election law, and he spoke6 to our colleague Michel Martin.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
First, I want to just mention that this decision has been widely described as a surprise. Why is that?
RICK HASEN: Well, John Roberts has a long history of being skeptical7 of the Voting Rights Act. And, in fact, the provision at issue in this case, Section 2 of the act, was rewritten by Congress in 1982. And, at that time, John Roberts was working for Ronald Reagan and opposed to the expansion of Section 2 that led to the victory in this week's ruling.
MARTIN: What do you think changed his mind? Any thoughts about that?
HASEN: The court's legitimacy8 has been under some pressure in the last year, given both rulings that have been controversial, like the abortion9 ruling and gun ruling and, probably, the likely affirmative action education ruling and also because of ethics10 scandals. And it would have been a major step for the court to decimate yet another provision of the Voting Rights Act. And so I don't know that Roberts and Kavanaugh, the two conservatives that joined the three liberals, wanted to take the heat that would have come from yet another blockbuster ruling.
MARTIN: If that is the case, then it would suggest that these decisions are being made on political grounds and reputational grounds but not on the basis of some sort of legal philosophy. Do you think that there has been some shift in the way the court is viewing these cases?
HASEN: These are cases that involve complex statutes11. They involve complex constitutional provisions. There are no clear answers to these questions, and that leaves room for a lot of discretion12. It doesn't mean that the justices are making naked political calculations, but, at least subconsciously13, they have to be aware that there is a social context in which they make their decisions. And so not rocking the boat here gives the court a little more political capital to do other more radical14 things elsewhere.
MARTIN: One of the issues that's sort of at play here is this whole question of whether redistricting done for the purpose of giving racial advantage is permissible15. Does this decision say anything about that?
HASEN: So what the court says is that race-based remedies, in the context of redistricting, are permissible. They are constitutional. That's a big deal because this has been something that Roberts and others on the court have been skeptical about. But it does say that you cannot make race the predominant factor when you draw district lines. When that happens, it becomes unconstitutional. So it's trying to draw this line between what's OK and what is not.
MARTIN: So I guess I'm trying to figure out, did the court determine where the line is or not?
HASEN: So what the court says is that if a state could draw a district line to give minority voters more representation, it is allowed to do so - and, in fact, the Voting Rights Act would require it to do so - if it's not going to mess with the traditional districting principles. So, for example, when lines are drawn16 in really weird17 ways and so the shape of districts looks really odd, that might be a signal that race was made the predominant factor, the most important factor, and that's something that you cannot do. But being race-conscious to allow minority voters to have that opportunity to elect their preferred candidates, that's permissible.
MARTIN: So before we let you go, Professor, there are other cases pending18 that - involving Louisiana, Texas and Georgia. Are there implications for those cases?
HASEN: Well, the biggest implication - right? - is what didn't happen. So it would have been an earthquake for the court to have ruled the way the dissenters19 wanted.
MARTIN: Rick Hasen is professor of law and political science at UCLA, and he's the director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project.
Professor Hasen, thanks so much for talking to us and sharing this expertise20 with us.
HASEN: It's been a pleasure.
![收听单词发音](/images/play.gif)
1
supreme
![]() |
|
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2
transcript
![]() |
|
n.抄本,誊本,副本,肄业证书 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3
democrat
![]() |
|
n.民主主义者,民主人士;民主党党员 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4
democrats
![]() |
|
n.民主主义者,民主人士( democrat的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5
delegation
![]() |
|
n.代表团;派遣 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6
spoke
![]() |
|
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7
skeptical
![]() |
|
adj.怀疑的,多疑的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8
legitimacy
![]() |
|
n.合法,正当 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9
abortion
![]() |
|
n.流产,堕胎 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10
ethics
![]() |
|
n.伦理学;伦理观,道德标准 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11
statutes
![]() |
|
成文法( statute的名词复数 ); 法令; 法规; 章程 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12
discretion
![]() |
|
n.谨慎;随意处理 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13
subconsciously
![]() |
|
ad.下意识地,潜意识地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14
radical
![]() |
|
n.激进份子,原子团,根号;adj.根本的,激进的,彻底的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15
permissible
![]() |
|
adj.可允许的,许可的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16
drawn
![]() |
|
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17
weird
![]() |
|
adj.古怪的,离奇的;怪诞的,神秘而可怕的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
18
pending
![]() |
|
prep.直到,等待…期间;adj.待定的;迫近的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
19
dissenters
![]() |
|
n.持异议者,持不同意见者( dissenter的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
20
expertise
![]() |
|
n.专门知识(或技能等),专长 | |
参考例句: |
|
|