United States. District Court (Florida : Northern District)

The cases of McMillan vs. Escambia County and Jenkins vs. Pensacola, Florida, were originally filed independently in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. The first, brought by Henry McMillan and others, was against the Escambia County Board of Commissioners, the Superintendent of Elections, the School District of Escambia County, and the School Board of Escambia County. The second, brought by Elmer Jenkins and others, was against the City of Pensacola, the Pensacola City Council, and the elections supervisor. The two cases were filed March 18, 1977, and consolidated April 17, 1979. In both cases the appellees represented African-American voters of Escambia County, Florida, and alleged that the at-large system for electing the five members of the Board of County Commissioners operated to "dilute" their voting strength. The U.S. District Court ruled that the at-large system used by the county discriminated against black voters and had been retained at least in part for discriminatory purposes. The court concluded that the system violated rights under the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments and the Voting Rights Act. The court ordered that the five commissioners be elected from single-member districts.