In Re Pennsylvania Congressional Districts Reapportionment Cases

OPINION

WEIS, Circuit Judge.

This case presents us with the decennial issue of reapportionment. The plaintiffs challenge Act 42, which was enacted by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to reapportion the state’s congressional districts in accordance with data derived from the 1980 census. The question before us is whether the evidence adduced requires us to tread our way through the political thicket or whether the facts permit us to exercise judicial restraint and stop at the edge. Although precise numerical equality was not achieved for each district, we conclude that there was sufficient…