美国国家公共电台 NPR--The Supreme Court upholds the provision prohibiting racial gerrymandering

The Supreme¹ Court upholds the provision prohibiting racial gerrymandering

Transcript²

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.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

4 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

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：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

8 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

9 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

10 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

11 statutes   

成文法( statute的名词复数 )； 法令； 法规； 章程

参考例句：

• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Each agency is also restricted by the particular statutes governing its activities. 各个机构的行为也受具体法令限制。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

12 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

13 subconsciously   

ad.下意识地，潜意识地

参考例句：

• In choosing a partner we are subconsciously assessing their evolutionary fitness to be a mother of children or father provider and protector. 在选择伴侣的时候，我们会在潜意识里衡量对方将来是否会是称职的母亲或者父亲，是否会是合格的一家之主。
• Lao Yang thought as he subconsciously tightened his grasp on the rifle. 他下意识地攥紧枪把想。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

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：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

15 permissible   

adj.可允许的，许可的

参考例句：

• Is smoking permissible in the theatre?在剧院里允许吸烟吗？
• Delay is not permissible,even for a single day.不得延误，即使一日亦不可。

16 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

17 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

18 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

19 dissenters   

n.持异议者，持不同意见者( dissenter的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He attacked the indulgence shown to religious dissenters. 他抨击对宗教上持不同政见者表现出的宽容。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• (The dissenters would have allowed even more leeway to the Secretary.) （持异议者还会给行政长官留有更多的余地。） 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

20 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。