Joey Fishkin weighs in, at Balkinization.

On the face of it, what the Court did today in Shelby County seems more modest than what it might have done.  While it could have struck down Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act—and indeed Justice Thomas wrote separately to say he would have—instead the Court struck “only” Section 4, the coverage formula that determines which states are covered under the Act.  Many have already pointed out that this is a distinction without a difference: since this Congress seems unlikely to enact a new Section 4 coverage formula (and there is no telling whether such a formula would be upheld by this Court anyway), the Court’s move today was at best false modesty.  Section 5 is essentiallydead, whether or not the Court admits it did the deed.

I want to suggest in this post that while it’s correct that this distinction makes little immediate difference, in jurisprudential terms, striking Section 4 was in some ways more radical than striking Section 5.  The Court’s approach to Section 4 represents a new departure in American federalism, one only hinted at in dicta in one previous case: a principle that the states’ “equal sovereignty” constrains Congress’ ability to treat one state differently from another.  This principle is one that should not have survived Reconstruction.  Its appearance in the federalism jurisprudence of 2013 does not augur anything good.

More here.  This builds on Joey’s recent piece about the “equal dignity of states” argument, which I can’t recommend highly enough.