On December 8, 2011, CAC filed a brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Shelby County v. Holder.   CAC’s brief demonstrates that the text and history of the Fifteenth Amendment give Congress broad authority – no less sweeping than Congress’s other expressly enumerated powers – to make sure the right to vote free from racial discrimination is fully enjoyed by all Americans. History shows that the Framers of the Fifteenth Amendment were fully aware that Congress needed broad authority to enact prophylactic legislation, such as the Voting Rights Act, to root out all forms of racial discrimination in voting.

Our brief drew from our own brief in NAMUDNO as well as our work on The Shield of National Protection (our text and history narrative concerning Congress’s power to enforce the Civil War Amendments).

The DC Circuit Court heard oral argument in the case on January 19, 2012, before Judges Tatel, Griffith, and Williams.