People v. Scharlau

The genesis of this appeal is the settlement of a lawsuit brought pursuant to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. § 1973b (1982 & Supp. V 1987)) (Voting Rights Case). The Voting Rights Case involved an allegation that the City of Danville’s election practices diluted minority vote. Almost immediately after the voting rights complaint was filed in Federal court, the city commissioners for Danville (Commissioners) and the city’s corporate counsel, defendants, began negotiating a' settlement. During the salient times involved in the instant case, the Danville city council consisted of the…