host: peyton mccrary mentioned this 1966 case, the spring court upheld the voting rights act. was this the first challenge to the act and how of the cases involved -- evolved over the years? prof. mccrary: south carolina challenged it. it's relevant to what has been happening lately because the court did uphold the law. they were saying they were being treated unfairly, particular in the law. i like to use the quote that ren usedstice war that said "history called up -- caught up with south carolina and the other states that have joined. he actually cited some of the more extreme statements of benjamin tillman who was the governor who, by the time he was state senator, but led this the dis-franchising convention of 1895 in south carolina to show why this was necessary. host: all of these cases changed -- however these cases changed over time? >> once african-americans were largely free of the discriminatory barriers to voting cases were brought to , challenge use of at-large elections for local governing bodies and state legislatures. because they diluted minority voting streng

host: peyton mccrary mentioned this 1966 case, the spring court upheld the voting rights act. was this the first challenge -- the supreme court upheld the voting rights act. how have the cases evolved over the years? peyton: south carolina challenge it. it is relevant to what has been happening lately because the court did uphold the law. law. they were saying they were being treated unfairly, particular in the -- i like to use the quotethat chief justice warned use that said "history calledup south carolina and the other states that have joined it. both cases made of the primary sorts of cases that we testified in in the 1980's, and congress had in mind when it amended section ii ofthe voting rights the intentinate task. in recent years however, the , courts have also had cases involvingonce again restrictionson voter registration procedures and voting in person. adopted where states photo id requirements, substantially cut early voting, and other restrictions on casting a ballot. we thought we had once dealt with nowcomes back as a whole new problem,the problem of the vote in

. >> we are with professor vernon burton of clemson university and peyton mccrary, george washingtonnesses. when our historians used as expert witnesses, professor burton?

. >> we are with professor vernon burton of clemson university and peyton mccrary, george washington university law school lecturer and former department of justice historian. you are fresh off your panel on historians as expert witnesses. when are historians used as expert witnesses, professor burton? prof. burton: in our case, we have done mainly voting rights work. goes back a number of years but historians were used quite a bit -- are used quite a bit and now in a lot of different kinds of litigation. explaining circumstances. looking at intent. so everything from environmental concerns to medical issues.