The high court heard arguments in an appeal by the Republican-led state House of Delegates in defense of 11 state House districts that a lower court ruled last year violated the rights of black voters to equal protection under the law under the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment. While the Supreme Court for decades has invalidated electoral maps due to racial gerrymandering, the justices have not yet made a definitive ruling on whether drawing legislative districts for purely partisan advantage violates the Constitution. In January, the court signaled that the Virginia Republican legislators face an uphill battle when it rejected their bid to block new electoral maps - ordered by the lower court to replace those being challenged in the racial gerrymandering case - from being drawn to use in the state's elections this November.
