Motion for Leave to File Brief Amicus Curiae; Brief of Amicus Curiae, the Honorable James G. Martin, Governor of North Carolina, Supporting Appellees

    No. 83-1968

IN r:rrs

$utrrrr'nrr (X,nurt nf tllr lluitpil Stulrr
OcTonpn Tnnrr, 1985

L,c.cv IL 1l'rronununa, et al.,
A p2tt:.llants,

v.

Itrrr,r,lr GInct,ns, et ol .,

A Ttpell ces.

ON APPEAT] FROM TIIti IINITIiI)
FON TIID FIASTERN DISTRICT

S1'ATI]S DISTRICT O0T]R'1

OtI NOII,'|}I CAROI,INA

Motion for Leave to File Brief Amicus Curiae

The Ilouorable,Inncs (l tr{artin, Go\,(.,1'lrol of North
Carolina, helcby respectfrrlly rrrovcs for leave to file thc
attachcd brief amicus cu,rit,e in t,his case. The consent of
t,he attorney for thc appellee has heen olrtained. The con-
sen[ of tlte uttorney for [hc appellant has beerr requestcrl
but refu'sed.

The irrt,elr,sl, o[ (lovclrrrlr JV[nltirr lrises frorn his posi-
tion as l,he chicf executive of lhe State of Nolth ()alolirra,
and hcrrce, as [hc serrior clecl,ed lcprestlrtativc of all Nolth
Carolinians.

In the instant easc the appellarrt tlglrcs tlrlt thrr rcccnt
electornl sueoess of sorro minorilv eirrrrlitlulos nrtrkcs tlrc
District'Ciortrt's firrrlittgs oI t'aeiul \'{)l(, (lilu{iolr clr,irrly
crrolt('ous. 'l'he lrriel'r'lric]r (lovr.r'lror lIrtltirr is r,r.rlrr,slirrg
to file arguos tha,l thc Distlict Conlt's firrrlirrq is clearly

I



ll

correct and that perpetuation of North Carolina's multi-
member district system, particularly in those districts where
its discriminatory effects havq been es,tablished, will hinder
his efrorts to open the political process in North Carolina
to all of its citizens.

Respectfully submitterl,

Vrcron S. Fnrnnnax
Fnrnn, FneNr<, Ilennrs, Srrnrvrn

& Jrcossol.r
(A partnership which includes

professional corporations)
One New York Plaza
New Yorlr, Nerv York
(212) 820-8050

Counsel for Jam,es G.

Goaernor of North

August 30, 1985

10004

Marti+t,
Carolina

No. 83-1968

Ir rup

Sutrrrrmp 0.uurt ut llp lilritrD btawx
Ocronpn Tnnu, 1985

Lecv fI. TrronNnuno, ct ul.,

v.

fl,,rr,pu GrNcr,ns, et al.,

Appel,lunts,

l p7tell,ees.

ON APPEAI, FROM TI'E UNI'TED STATES DISTRICT COTIRT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NONTII CANOI,INA

BRIBF OF AMICUS CURIAEO THE HONONAT}LE
JAMES G. MARTTN, GOVEnNOR OF NORTTI

CAROLINA, SUPPORTING APT'ELLBES

The Honordble Jarnes G. Martin, Governor of the State
of North Carolina, subrnits this brief nntictts cttri.ne in sup-
port of the cleeision of the Ilnited Statcs Dist.r'ict Court for
thc IXastern l)istr:ict of Norlh Carolinn invalidttirg six of
North Carolirra's mrrllirncmbcr distlicts orr thc gl'ountl that
those tlistricts harl thtr c{Tcct of clilutirrg blacl< votes irr vio-
Iation of Scction 2 of lhc \rotiug Rights Act cf 1965.

fnterest oL Anticus Cwiae

The Governor rvishes to malrt' clear to thc Corrrt that
the highest clccted official of fhc Filnte oI North ()arolinr,
and one n,ith ext,er:sivc l<rrou,lerlge ol' lrrrrl cxllr.r'ir.rrclc in
North Caroliun politics, rloes ttot sltnre tlrc viel's ol' llre
Statc's Atlolney Ccrtcriil as set for:th in appcllarrt's blicfs



'2

before the ,Court. As a former three-term Mecklenburg
County Commissioner (1966-1972), during which time he
was elected'Commission'Chairman and served as President
of the Nonth Carolina Assoeiation of County Commis-
sioners; a six-term Congressman (1972-1984) from the
9th Congressional District, encompassing fredell, Lincoln,
Mecklenburg and part of Yadkin eoun,ties I and, since his
election in November 1984, the Chief Executive Officer of
the State, he believes,that his viervs will be of special value
to the Court.

The Governor's interest is two-fold. As a member of a
minority political party in North Carolina (only the second
Republican governor in this century), he is well aware of
the disadvantages North 'Carolina's multimember voting
system ereates for any minority group where the majority
group tends to vote on the basis of criteria other than the
particular eandidate's merits. As ,the representative of all
of the people of the State, he is keenly aware of the need
to eliminate as quiekly as praeticable the vestiges of past
diserimination and to bring into the political life of the
State all of its citizens without maintaining or erecting
artificial barriers to full participation of any group. To
the exten,t that multimember districts ereate such barriers,
and the Governor agrees fully with the Distriet Court that
in the rlistricts at issue (if not the entire Stati) ,they tlo,
they should be stricken down.

Argument

-Wo 
esehew the opportunity to enter the rlebate over

whether ,the "clearly erroneons" standand governs this
Courtts revierv beeause of the Ctovernor's vierv that, far
from "clearly erroneous", the District Court's essential
findings were clcarly correct. There ean be little qncstion
that multimember districts in North Carolina dilute the
effcct of lllaek votes whcrevcr there are smaller ircludetl

3

districts with clear black majorities. The election of some
blacks to the State legislature does not detract from the
simple, but obvious, truth that, although in some circum-
stanees the artiffcinl barrier of multimember distriets can
be overcome, the barrier surely exis,ts.

As the recorrl below amply demonstrates, North Caro-
lina's multimember districts ereate additional clifliculties
for blacks seeking to participate fully in the State's political
process. The significantly higher cost of campaigning in the
larger multimember tlistricts (Pl.Ex. 20; R. 130-31, 138),
coupled with the greater difficulty black candidates face
in raising campaign funds (R. 437, 443,468), act as further
deterrents on black eantlidacies. Thus, the significant eco-
nomic disparity between whites and blacks in the State
exacerbates the discriminatory impact of multimember dis-
tricting.

This administration is committed to opening the political
process to all North Carolinians. fn making appoin,tments
to State Boards and Commissions, the Governor is seeking
to attract qualified citizens regardless of race, age, sex,
political party or geography. He has already made, and
will continue to make, significant progress in broadening
the base from which these exeeutive appointments are macle.

Such progress necessarily will be of limited impact, how-
ever, if the State legislature (rvith its unusual powers)*
continues to be chosen by a process which is, after all, the
remnant of an earlier time when the governmen.t in North
Carolina was conducted solely by white male Democrats.
Black citizens of Nor:th'Carolina, because of their economic
disadvantage, feel the tliscriminatory impnct of rnulti-
member districting even more than othcr rninoritics in the
political process. The Court is thus respcctfully urged to
strike down this anaehronistie systern nl, Ieast in those dis-

* North Carolina is
ean enact legislntion;
veto.

the orly state where the Iegislature alone
there is no provision for any gubernatorial



4

triets' where the Distriot Court found ample proof of its
discriminatory impact.

C.onclueion

The judgmen't of the Distriot Court should be affirmed.

Respeetfully submitted,

Rosmr W. Bmosuew, Jn. Vrcmn S. Fnrnouax'
RoursoN, Bmpsuew & Ilrwsox, Fntro, FntNr, E[tnnrs, Snnrwn

P.A. & JecossoN
1900 Inilependenee Center (A partnership which ineludes
Charlotte, N.C. 28246 . professional eorporations)
Telephone: (704) 377-259G One New York Pleza

New York, N.Y. 10004
Telephone : (212) 820-8050

Counsel for Amicus Curiae
Jomes G. Martin, Gooernor of
North Carolino

rCounxel of Record