Hattiesburg ward case appealed to Fifth Circuit

July 14, 2009

Mississippi: Federal judge Keith Starrett's 2008 ruling in a case regarding the drawing of voting district lines is being appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.

Arguments will be heard on August 3, 2009 on whether the counting of university students in Hattiesburg's population diluted minority participation on the city council. Starrett ruled that the "plaintiffs did not show that Hattiesburg's new wards violate the one-person, one-vote principle. Starrett said it would impossible to draw three majority-Black city wards without excluding the students."

Plaintiffs contend that the city violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by including dormitory students in population calculations used to draw the city's wards.

Footnotes

Mississippi courts

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Federal courts:

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Mississippi, Southern District of Mississippi • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Mississippi, Southern District of Mississippi

State courts:

Mississippi Supreme Court • Mississippi Court of Appeals • Mississippi circuit courts • Mississippi Chancery Court • Mississippi county courts • Mississippi justice courts • Mississippi youth courts • Mississippi Municipal Courts

State resources:

Courts in Mississippi • Mississippi judicial elections • Judicial selection in Mississippi