Did You Know...

Color Me Gerrymandered

The inclusion of maps, photographs, or other supplemental material in Supreme Court opinions is rare. On June 22, 1983, the Supreme Court handed down its opinion in Karcher  v. Daggett, in which it found that the population discrepancies for New Jersey’s recently redrawn congressional districts went beyond the allowable bounds. In a concurring opinion, Justice John Paul Stevens also found the “bizarre configuration” of the district boundaries to be unconstitutional, particularly “the Swan” (district five) and “the Fishhook” (district seven). To illustrate his point, he wanted to include a color map, but Chief Justice Warren E. Burger objected because he felt the expense was excessive. Stevens persuaded him by noting that he had saved the Court more than the amount at issue by employing only two law clerks every year, while all of Stevens’s colleagues employed three or more. The map was included.