Appeals court hears Miss. redistricting case

The Associated Press State & Local Wire

August 3, 2009

A federal appeals court is reviewing the dismissal of a lawsuit that claims black voters in Hattiesburg, Miss., have been marginalized by the city's decision to count thousands of college students in drawing its ward boundary lines.

Lawyers for the southern Mississippi city on Monday asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a lower court's ruling that Hattiesburg's inclusion of college students for redistricting didn't violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

An attorney for several black Hattiesburg voters said blacks account for an estimated 52 percent of the city's registered voters but have had their voting strength diluted by racial gerrymandering.

A three-judge panel from the court didn't immediately rule.