Background
Democrats in the state of Indiana challenged the state's 1981 state apportionment scheme for Indiana General Assembly districts because of political gerrymandering. The Democrats argued that "the apportionment unconstitutionally diluted their votes in important districts, violating their rights." Indiana Democrats used the elections of November 1982 as proof that the new plan violated the 14th amendment due to voter dilution. In both the House and the Senate Democrats won the majority of votes, but failed to have a majority of candidates win. The District Court ruled in favor of the Democrats, throwing out the old plan and calling for the creation of a new one.Decision
The Supreme Court ruled on two separate issues, first whether gerrymandering claims are justiciable and secondly, if the 1981 Indiana Reapportionment Plan was an infraction on citizen's rights to equal representation which was protected by the 14th Amendment. The Court ruled 6-3 that federal courts can determine cases of partisan gerrymandering as worthy of intervention, but they also ruled 7-2 that Indiana's plan was constitutional under the Equal Protection Clause.See also
* List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 478 * List of United States Supreme Court cases * Lists of United States Supreme Court cases by volume *References
Further reading
*External links
* United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the Burger Court United States Constitution Article Three case law United States electoral redistricting case law United States political question doctrine case law 1986 in United States case law Indiana General Assembly Gerrymandering in the United States {{SCOTUS-stub