Louisiana v. Callais · ¶195

Today's majority does not. Its supposed “updating” of Gingles overthrows Congress's decision to make Section 2 liability hinge on an electoral practice's effects—on how it actually works. The new Callais requirements will effectively insulate any practice, including any districting scheme, said by a State to have any race-neutral justification. That justification can sound in traditional districting criteria, or else can sound in politics and partisanship. As to the latter, the State need do nothing more than announce a partisan gerrymander. Assuming the State has left behind no smoking-gun evidence of a race-based motive (an almost fanciful prospect), Section 2 will play no role. “Whatever”— whatever—results from the State's asserted justification is all its minority citizens are entitled to. Ante, at 112. Even if the State has deprived those citizens (but not their majority neighbors)…

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