Vieth v. Jubelirer

law case

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 16, 2026

Quick Summary

The case of Vieth v. Jubelirer (2004) addressed the issue of partisan gerrymandering, which is the practice of drawing electoral district boundaries to favor one political party. In this case, a group of Pennsylvania voters challenged the state's congressional redistricting map, arguing it was unconstitutionally biased against Democrats.123

A plurality of the U.S. Supreme Court held that claims of partisan gerrymandering are not justiciable, meaning federal courts cannot rule on them, because there are no clear, manageable standards to assess such claims. This decision suggested that political gerrymandering is a "political question" best left to the political branches of government. However, subsequent cases like Gill v. Whitford and Rucho v. Common Cause have continued to grapple with the justiciability of partisan gerrymandering, with the Supreme Court ultimately ruling in Rucho that federal courts cannot hear such claims.342

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

6 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

gerrymandering
In 2004, in Vieth v. Jubelirer, a plurality of the Court pointedly embraced what the Bandemer Court had declined to hold, on the grounds that “no judicially discernible and manageable standards for adjudicating partisan gerrymandering claims have emerged” since the Bandemer decision. Although siding with the plurality in…
Read More
In 2004, in Vieth v. Jubelirer, a plurality of the Court pointedly embraced what the Bandemer Court had declined to hold, on the grounds that “no judicially discernible and manageable standards for adjudicating partisan gerrymandering claims have emerged” since the Bandemer decision. Although siding with the plurality in…
Read More

Gill v. Whitford
In Vieth v. Jubelirer (2004), another plurality of the Court held that political gerrymandering claims were never justiciable, because “no judicially discernible and manageable standards for adjudicating political gerrymandering claims have emerged” since the Bandemer decision. In his concurring opinion in Vieth, Justice Anthony Kennedy notably…
Read More
In Vieth v. Jubelirer (2004), another plurality of the Court held that political gerrymandering claims were never justiciable, because “no judicially discernible and manageable standards for adjudicating political gerrymandering claims have emerged” since the Bandemer decision. In his concurring opinion in Vieth, Justice Anthony Kennedy notably…
Read More