Supreme Court decision in City of Mobile v. Bolden

E291888

The Supreme Court decision in City of Mobile v. Bolden was a 1980 ruling that required proof of discriminatory intent in voting rights cases, prompting Congress to amend the Voting Rights Act in 1982 to restore a results-based standard.

All labels observed (1)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (37)

Predicate Object
instanceOf United States Supreme Court case
voting rights case
affected interpretation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act prior to 1982
areaOfLaw constitutional law
voting rights law
citation 446 U.S. 55
constitutionalProvisionInterpreted Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Fourteenth Amendment
surface form: Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
constitutionalRightInvolved right to vote free from racial discrimination
court Supreme Court of the United States
decisionDate 1980-04-22
held A showing of discriminatory effect alone is insufficient to prove a constitutional violation in voting rights cases
Proof of discriminatory intent is required to establish a violation of the Fifteenth Amendment in voting rights cases
influenced Congress to adopt a results-based standard in the Voting Rights Act
issue Whether at-large election systems that dilute minority voting strength violate the Fifteenth Amendment without proof of discriminatory intent
Whether discriminatory effect alone can establish a constitutional violation in voting rights cases
jurisdiction United States of America
surface form: United States
legalStandardAnnounced discriminatory intent requirement for certain voting rights claims
locationOfDispute Mobile, Alabama
majorityOpinionBy Potter Stewart
overriddenInPartBy 1982 amendments to Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act
party City of Mobile
John L. Bolden
precedentFor intent requirement in certain equal protection and Fifteenth Amendment voting claims
prompted 1982 amendments to Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act
relatedConcept discriminatory effect
discriminatory intent
results test in voting rights law
relatedLegislation 1982 amendments to the Voting Rights Act
Voting Rights Act of 1965
result Judgment for the City of Mobile
standardContrastedWith results-based standard for vote dilution under amended Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act
subsequentDevelopment Congress amended Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act in 1982 to adopt a results test
subsequentInterpretationBy Thornburg v. Gingles
topic at-large election systems
vote dilution
voteSplit plurality decision

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1982 inResponseTo Supreme Court decision in City of Mobile v. Bolden