LAWYERS’ COMMITTEE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS OF SAN FRANCISCO

Last March, the California Supreme Court denied the City of Modesto’s petition for review in Sanchez v. City of Modesto, a lawsuit filed by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, Heller Ehrman and the Seattle University School of Law to protect the rights of Latino voters in Modesto.  The Supreme Court’s decision leaves in place a December 2006 ruling by the California Court of Appeal upholding the right of the voters to challenge at-large voting systems that are characterized by racially polarized voting patterns.  This right was established with the passage of the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) in 2001.  When racially polarized voting patterns are demonstrated, voters can demand that the jurisdiction convert to a district system.  Vote dilution is a serious problem in Modesto, where Latinos comprise more than 25 percent of the population, but only one Latino has been elected to the City Council since 1911.  The Supreme Court’s decision upholding the Constitutionality of the CVRA allows the plaintiffs to pursue their substantive claims.