These words appear in this decision issued by the Sixth Circuit in Stewart v. Blackwell. By a 2-1 vote, the appellate court reversed the district court and held that the selective use of punch card ballots in some Ohio counties but not others violates the Equal Protection Clause under Bush v. Gore. It remanded to consider further the section 2 of the Voting Rights Act claims. While it is always nice to have one’s law review articles discussed by the courts (that is, after all, one of my main audiences when writing), the dispute between the majority and the dissent over how to best read my conclusions is more heated than I have ever seen.
I hope to post more (perhaps not today, as I have other commitments) when I have had a chance to read this more closely. Congratulations to Dan Tokaji, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs. And thanks to Howard Bashman for the link, writing from his blog’s new address at law.com.