Cite as: 594 U. S. ____ (2021)
37
Opinion of the Court
The Court of Appeals did not dispute the District Court’s
assessment of the sincerity of HB 2023’s proponents. It
even agreed that some members of the legislature had a
“sincere, though mistaken, non-race-based belief that there
had been fraud in third-party ballot collection, and that the
problem needed to be addressed.” 948 F. 3d, at 1040. The
Court of Appeals nevertheless concluded that the District
Court committed clear error by failing to apply a “ ‘cat’s
paw’ ” theory sometimes used in employment discrimination cases. Id., at 1040–1041. A “cat’s paw” is a “dupe” who
is “used by another to accomplish his purposes.” Webster’s
New International Dictionary 425 (2d ed. 1934). A plaintiff
in a “cat’s paw” case typically seeks to hold the plaintiff ’s
employer liable for “the animus of a supervisor who was not
charged with making the ultimate [adverse] employment
decision.” Staub v. Proctor Hospital, 562 U. S. 411, 415
(2011).
The “cat’s paw” theory has no application to legislative
bodies. The theory rests on the agency relationship that
exists between an employer and a supervisor, but the legislators who vote to adopt a bill are not the agents of the bill’s
sponsor or proponents. Under our form of government, legislators have a duty to exercise their judgment and to represent their constituents. It is insulting to suggest that
they are mere dupes or tools.
*
*
*
Arizona’s out-of-precinct policy and HB 2023 do not violate §2 of the VRA, and HB 2023 was not enacted with a
racially discriminatory purpose. The judgment of the Court
of Appeals is reversed, and the cases are remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
It is so ordered.
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