The Associated Press: Supreme Court hears cases about use of race in redistricting
But J. Gerald Hebert, director of the Voting Rights and Redistricting Program at the public-interest Campaign Legal Center in Washington, said the states drew districts with more black voters than necessary to "dilute their voting strength in order to achieve a partisan gain." Hebert signed on to briefs supporting the black voters in both states.
Both Hebert and Park said they would be surprised if the court were to rule differently in the two cases since they are so similar. If the justices are evenly split, they could let the cases sit until a ninth justice joins them, possibly in the spring, and hold a second round of arguments.