Lucas v. Townsend’s Empirical Analysis
1988
Citation profile
2 federal appellate ·
Relationships
Applies 42 U.S.C. § 1973C (§ 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965)
Relies on Allen v. State Board of Elections · South Carolina v. Katzenbach · Beer v. United States · Dougherty County Georgia Board of Education v. White · National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Hampton County Election Commission
Most-quoted passages
The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 4 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“(a) No voting qualification or prerequisite to voting or standard, practice, or procedure shall be imposed or applied by any State or political subdivision in a manner which results in a denial or abridgement of the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color, or in contravention of the guarantees set forth in section 1973b(f)(2) of this title, as provided in subsection (b) of this section. (b) A violation of subsection (a) of this section is established if, based on the totality of circumstances, it is shown that the political processes leading to nomination or election in the State or political subdivision are not equally open to participation by members of a class of citizens protected by subsection (a) of this section in that its members have less opportunity than other members of the electorate to participate in the political process and to elect representatives of their choice. The extent to which members of a protected class have been elected to office in the State or political subdivision is one circumstance which may be considered: Provided, That nothing in this section establishes a right to have members of a protected class elected in numbers equal to their proportion in the population.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage“be pre-cleared by the Attorney General of the United States prior to their implementation. The three-judge panel held that the Bibb County school board’s exercise of its discretion in formulating questions for bond referendums was not a change affecting voting. Further, the court held that”
1 later decision quote this exact passage“a standard, practice, or procedure affecting voting”
1 later decision quote this exact passagee.g. Lucas v. Townsend
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.