1980 June 14 Based on a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Justice Department drops a voting rights discrimination suit against Hattiesburg, Mississippi because of their inability to prove intentional discrimination. The high court ruled in Mobile, Alabama that it must be proven that "at large" voting systems were intentionally established and excluded black voters. The Justice Department contended that "at large" elections for three members of the Hattiesburg City Commission diluted black voting strength in violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments.