Charles F. Zimmer, Stewart Marshall, Intervenor-Appellant v. John J. McKeithen

GEWIN, Circuit Judge:

Aristotle has written:

If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be founded in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost.1

This case evokes a consideration of the extent to which the Constitution of the United States compels adherence to this principle. Specifically, we are called upon to determine under what circumstances an apportionment scheme operates to minimize or cancel out the voting strength of racial or political elements of the voting population.2 Appellant contends that the district…