Democracy, equality and the law: The problem of political equality in American law

This is a work of applied democratic theory. This dissertation is an examination of the issues that arise in lawsuits under the United States Constitution and Voting Rights Act of 1965 that challenge political structures such as electoral districts and voting methodologies. Although legal in nature, these issues present deeper questions of democracy and equality and the connections between the two. This work is intended as an analysis of democratic theory with the intent of proposing a legal framework that would be rooted in a sound theoretical framework.; The first methodological approach is legal. Chapter Two sets forth the development of the jurisprudential issues involved. The second methodological approach is philosophical. Chapter Three explores the deeper questions of democracy, equality and liberalism through the liberal theory of six contemporary theorists. Chapter Four brings the theoretical questions into sharper focus as they relate to the specific issues involved in this topic. The final methodological approach uses decision theory to address how the theoretical issues can be applied to the process of practical politics (Chapter Five).; This work concludes by offering a legal framework that attempts to take into account the theoretical underpinnings presented in the prior chapters. By applying legal standards that consider the questions of democracy and equality, majorities and minorities and rights and politics, the judiciary can decide the type of cases analyzed by this dissertation in a more theoretically justifiable fashion.