ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 8, 1997 TAG: 9702100060
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: WARREN FISKE AND MIKE KNEPLER STAFF WRITERS
THE STATE'S only majority black congressional district will have to be redrawn without segregating races.
The state's only majority black congressional district - which includes sections of Norfolk, Portsmouth and Suffolk and is represented by Democrat Robert "Bobby" Scott - was ruled unconstitutional Friday by a panel of federal judges.
Saying the meandering, 225-square-mile 3rd District was ``illegally gerrymandered'' to fashion its 62 percent black voting age population, the panel of three U.S. District Court judges ordered the General Assembly to redraw the boundaries without segregating races.
The decision makes Virginia the sixth state to have its congressional districts overturned since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that federal laws do not require that districts dominated by minorities be created whenever possible. Instead, courts have ruled that drawing geographically ``compact and contiguous'' districts is more important.
State Attorney General Jim Gilmore said he was ``disappointed'' with the decision but will not decide whether to press an appeal until he has consulted with the NAACP. A state spokesman for the civil rights group said he was hopeful Gilmore would advance the case to the federal Court of Appeals.
``We're not surprised but disappointed, because we feel that this is part of a nationwide trend,'' said King Khalfani of the NAACP. ``It reminds us of the period after Reconstruction, how we were systematically taken out of the process.''
But Scott, who has represented the district since its inception in 1992, disagreed. At a news conference, the only black Virginian elected to Congress this century said he hoped state political leaders could work out ``minor revisions'' to satisfy the judges without seeking an appeal.
``I think all sides have an interest in not reopening the redistricting to major changes,'' Scott said. ``If you're going to do major changes to the 3rd Congressional District, you're also going to have to have major changes to at least one other, and probably four other districts.''
The judges ordered the General Assembly to redraw the district before the next congressional races in 1998. Barring an appeal, Gov. George Allen would have the option of either convening a special meeting of the legislature or waiting until next year's winter session to comply.
``It's just too early to determine,'' said Ken Stroupe, the governor's press secretary.
Should the courts require a substantial overhaul, however, the General Assembly would have no choice but to redraw a number of congressional districts in Hampton Roads that are now represented by Democrats Owen Pickett and Norman Sisisky and Republican Herbert Bateman. The domino effect also could spread to Republican Thomas Bliley's suburban Richmond district.
Whatever the outcome, Scott said he planned to seek re-election in 1998, and even the judges said their ruling should not upset the congressman's career. Scott, a Harvard-educated lawyer, has broad biracial appeal and was elected three times to the state Senate from a majority-white district.
The suit was filed by two 3rd District Republicans - Donald Moon, a retired Navy man, and Robert Smith, a black customer service representative and unsuccessful candidate for local office.
They argued that in drawing the majority-black district, the state illegally divided races. ``I've seen segregation in a lot of different guises, and no matter what label they put on it, it's wrong,'' Moon said.
The three judges unanimously agreed that the district violated Moon and Smith's right to equal protection of laws ``because it relies upon the classification of large numbers of Virginians by race so as to include or exclude them.''
The ruling was written by Judge Robert Merhige of Richmond and signed by Judges T.S. Ellis of Alexandria and Emory Widener of Abingdon.
The state, joined by the American Civil Liberties Union, argued that race was not the predominant factor in the General Assembly's creation of the district. At least as important, they maintained, was protecting several incumbents with safe seats. Bateman, for example, resisted initial efforts to place his home in a black district. In the end, the congressman was strengthened by a district that became increasingly white, suburban and Republican-leaning.
The judges rejected that argument, ruling that legislators and then-Gov. Douglas Wilder consistently took steps to increase black populations when the district was being created.
The judges noted that then-state Attorney General Mary Sue Terry, in submitting the plan to the federal Justice Department for approval, wrote: ``Extensive redrawing of district lines was necessitated ... to meet ideal population standards, establish a majority black district and create a new open district in the Northern Virginia area of highest population growth.''
The judges said lawmakers made their intent clear by establishing written guidelines that prohibited any ``change which will reduce the black percentage,'' of the 3rd Congressional District.
They ruled that the ``bizarre shape'' of the district - which meanders from Portsmouth all the way northeast to Essex County with tentacles stretching in to black sections of Richmond and Petersburg - ``confirms manifest racial intention.''
Finally, the judges said that the district illegally shattered the political cohesion of many cities and counties. The racial populations of 11 localities were divided to create the district, they said.
``The legislature relied upon the classification of voters based upon race at the census block level to divide precincts and apportion large numbers of voters based on race into, and out of, the 3rd District,'' Merhige wrote. ``The division of cities on an unprecedented scale cannot be explained on any grounds other than race.''
LENGTH: Long : 103 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Scott. color. Graphic: Map. color.by CNB