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Wicomico County council approves consent decree settling NAACP Voting Rights Act suit; county to pay $125,000 in fees
Summary
After public hearings and weeks of mediation, the council approved a proposed consent judgment and decree resolving a lawsuit that alleged vote dilution; the settlement creates seven single‑member council districts, aligns school board lines, funds a human‑rights advisory committee, and includes $125,000 in county attorney fees.
WICOMICO COUNTY, Md. — The Wicomico County Council voted Feb. 4 to approve a consent judgment and decree resolving litigation brought by the Wicomico County branch of the NAACP and other plaintiffs alleging that the county’s five‑district-plus‑two‑at‑large system diluted minority voting strength.
The agreement, which council members said was reached after mediation with plaintiffs and review by counsel, would convert the county council to seven single‑member districts and require the Wicomico County Board of Education to adopt matching district lines. The proposed consent decree would run until February 2030, at which point census data would guide any changes.
Kevin Karpinski, counsel for the county, described the litigation’s background and the costs of contested federal litigation, saying trials of this…
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