Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 96 Part 1.djvu/175

 PUBLIC LAW 9 7 - 2 0 5 - J U N E 29, 1982

96 STAT. 133

of such action in the media serving such State or political subdivision and in appropriate United States post offices. Any aggrieved party may as of right intervene at any stage in such action."; (5) in the second paragraph— (A) by inserting "(5) before "An action"; and (B) by striking out "five" and all that follows through "section 4(f)(2).", and inserting in lieu thereof "ten years after judgment and shall reopen the action upon motion of the Attorney General or any aggrieved person alleging that conduct has occurred which, had that conduct occurred during the ten-year periods referred to in this subsection, would have precluded the issuance of a declaratory judgment under this subsection. The court, upon such reopening, shall vacate the declaratory judgment issued under this section if, after the issuance of such declaratory judgment, a final judgment against the State or subdivision with respect to which such declaratory judgment was issued, or against any governmental unit within that State or subdivision, determines that denials or abridgements of the right to vote on account of race or color have occurred an)rwhere in the territory of such State or political subdivision or (in the case of a State or subdivision which sought a declaratory judgment under the second sentence of this subsection) that denials or abridgements of the right to vote in contravention of the guarantees of subsection (fK2) have occurred anywhere in the territory of such State or subdivision, or if, after the issuance of such declaratory judgment, a consent decree, settlement, or agreement has been entered into resulting in any abandonment of a voting practice challenged on such grounds."; and (6) by striking out "If the Attorney General" the first place it appears and all that follows through the end of such subsection and inserting in lieu thereof the following: "(6) If, after two years from the date of the filing of a declaratory judgment under this subsection, no date has been set for a hearing in such action, and that delay has not been the result of an avoidable delay on the part of counsel for any party, the chief judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia may request the Judicial Council for the Circuit of the District of Columbia to provide the necessary judicial resources to expedite any action filed under this section. If such resources are unavailable within the circuit, the chief judge shall file a certificate of necessity in accordance with section 292(d) of title 28 of the United States Code. "(7) The Congress shall reconsider the provisions of this section at Congressional the end of the fifteen-year period following the effective date of the reconsideration. amendments made by the Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1982. "(8) The provisions of this section shall expire at the end of the Expiration date, twenty-five-year period following the effective date of the amendments made by the Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1982. "(9) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the Attorney General from consenting to an entry of judgment if based upon a showing of objective and compelling evidence by the plaintiff, and upon investigation, he is satisfied that the State or political subdivision has complied with the requirements of section 4(a)(1). Any aggrieved party may as of right intervene at any stage in such action.". (c) Section 4(f)(4) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is amended by 42 USC 1973b. inserting after "unwritten" in the proviso the following: "or in the

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