Court Ordered To Reconsider Miss. Voting-Rights Case

By Mark Walsh

Washington--The U.S. Supreme Court last week ordered a lower court to reconsider a Mississippi case in which the U.S. Justice Department has concluded that a 1986 state law governing changes in school-district boundaries appears to dilute the political strength of some black voters.

The immediate issue in the case, Dupree v. Moore (Case No. 90-1977), is a procedural question involving Section 5 of the federal Voting Rights Act, which requires jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination in voting practices to get federal approval for any change in voting procedures. Mississippi is one of several states covered by the law.

In 1986, the state passed a comprehensive school-reform measure that made numerous changes to existing state law, including the repeal of a provision that automatically extended the boundaries of municipal school districts when cities annexed land. The law also added a provision that school districts could expand with the consent of the school system that...