4th Circuit afirms decision against Charleston County
A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that a South Carolina county's at-large method of electing county council members illegally dilutes minority voting strength.
A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed U.S. District Judge Michael Duffy's ruling that Charleston County's system discriminates against blacks. The court said only a "clearly erroneous" ruling could be overturned.
"While the district court's finding ... is certainly disputable, it is not clearly mistaken," Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III wrote.
The U.S. Justice Department and a group of Charleston County voters challenged the at-large system, in which all county voters choose all nine council members. At the time of the trial, only three blacks were among the 41 council members elected since 1970. The county's population is 31 percent black, according to the 2000 census. -- Court strikes down S.C. county's at-large elections (AP via Charleston State)
The opinion is here on the 4th Circuit website.