Beyond The Reach

Excessive partisanship in districting leads to results that reasonably seem unjust.   But the fact that such gerrymandering is "incompatible with democratic principles," does not mean that the solution lies with the federal judiciary.  We conclude that partisan gerrymandering claims present political questions beyond the reach of the federal courts.  Federal judges have no license to reallocate political power between the two major political parties, with no plausible grant of authority in the Constitution, and no legal standards to limit and direct their decisions. ...

Our conclusion does not condone excessive partisan gerrymandering.  Nor does our conclusion condemn complaints about districting to echo into a void.  The States, for example, are actively addressing the issue on a number of fronts.

-- Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority in Rucho et al v Common Cause et al, ruling that the courts have no role in preventing partisan gerrymandering