383 U. S., at 309. But it does not follow that Congress did not intend to preclude judicial review of Attorney General actions under § 5.22 The initial alternative requirement of submission to the Attorney General substantially reduces the likelihood that a discriminatory enactment will escape detection by federal authorities.23 Where the discriminatory char 22 Relying on the fact that §4 of the Voting Rights Act expressly precludes judicial review of the Attorney General's actions under that section, post, at 509-510, and n. 3, see Briscoe v. Bell, ante, p. 404, MR. JUSTICE MARSHALL'S dissent would formulate a new mechanical rule of statutory construction: If one section of a statute expressly forbids judicial review, it would not be open for the courts to inquire whether Congress also intended to preclude review under other sections of the same statute. Application of such a rule of statutory construction would prevent a court from giving effect to congressional intent that otherwise was clear from "the context of the entire legislative scheme." Abbott Laboratories v. Gardner, supra, at 141. The existence of an express preclusion of judicial review in one section of a statute is a factor relevant to congressional intent, but it is not conclusive with respect to reviewability under other sections of the statute. Here, we simply conclude that other factors-the harsh nature of the § 5 remedy, the statutory language, and the legislative materials are sufficiently strong indications of congressional intent to override any contrary inference that might be drawn from the fact that Congress expressly precluded judicial review in a different section of the same statute. 23 MR. JUSTICE MARSHALL'S dissent opens with a "floodgates" argument: If there is no judicial review when the Attorney General misunderstands his legal duty, there also will be no judicial review when at sometime in the future the Attorney General bargains acquiescence in a discriminatory change in a covered State's voting laws in return for that State's electoral votes. Post, at 508, and n. 1. That "floodgates" concern is equally applicable to Congress' express preclusion of judicial review under § 4 of the Act, see n. 22, supra, a fact which suggests that Congress-like the courtsoperates on the assumption that the Attorney General of the United States will perform faithfully his statutory responsibilities. In determining whether preclusion of judicial review can fairly be inferred from the context of the entire legislative scheme, we place no weight on the prospect that an Attorney General someday will trade electoral votes for preclearance under § 5. 1 491 MARSHALL, J., dissenting acter of an enactment is not detected upon review by the Attorney General, it can be challenged in traditional constitutional litigation. But it cannot be questioned in a suit seeking judicial review of the Attorney General's exercise of discretion under § 5, or his failure to object within the statutory period.24 III For these reasons, we hold that the objection interposed by the Attorney General to § 2 of Act 1205 on July 20, 1973, nunc pro tunc, is invalid.25 South Carolina is therefore free to implement its reapportionment plan for the State Senate. Affirmed. MR. JUSTICE MARSHALL, with whom MR. JUSTICE BRENNAN joins, dissenting. The Court holds today that an Attorney General's failure to object within 60 days to the implementation of a voting law that has been submitted to him under § 5 of the Voting 24 The United States suggests that there should be limited judicial reveiw only when the Attorney General improperly relinquishes his responsibility to evaluate independently the submitted legislation in light of the standards established by §5. Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae 30-31. For the reasons stated in text, we think Congress intended to preclude all judicial review of the Attorney General's exercise of discretion or failure to act. We note, however, that there is no evidence in this case that the Attorney General improperly "relinquished" his statutory responsibilities. The record is clear that the Attorney General reviewed the submitted legislation as well as the judicial determination in Twiggs v. West and decided not to interpose an objection to § 2 of Act 1205. That decision may have been erroneous, see n. 8, supra, but it nonetheless was a decision exercised pursuant to the Attorney General's § 5 responsibilities. 25 In light of this disposition of the case, we find it unnecessary to address the argument advanced by South Carolina that the single judge in Harper v. Kleindienst, 362 F. Supp. 742 (DC 1973), had no jurisdiction to determine questions arising under § 5 of the Voting Rights Act. See Allen v. State Bd. of Elections, 393 U. S., at 560–563. MARSHALL, J., dissenting 432 U.S. Rights Act, as amended, 42 U. S. C. § 1973c (1970 ed., Supp. V), cannot be questioned in any court. Under the Court's ruling, it matters not whether the Attorney General fails to object because he misunderstands his legal duty, as in this case; because he loses the submission; or because he seeks to subvert the Voting Rights Act. Indeed, the Court today grants unreviewable discretion to a future Attorney General to bargain acquiescence in a discriminatory change in a covered State's voting laws in return for that State's electoral votes.1 Cf. J. Randall & D. Donald, The Civil War and Reconstruction 678-701 (2d ed. 1961) (settlement of the election of 1876). Common sense proclaims the error of this result. It is simply implausible that Congress, which devoted unusual attention to this Act in recognition of its stringency and importance, see South Carolina v. Katzenbach, 383 U. S. 301, 308-309 (1966), intended to allow the Act's primary enforce 1 "QUESTION: I thought it was your position that even if he [the Attorney General] had said, we're interposing no objection because South Carolina voted Republican at the last election, that even that wouldn't be reviewable. "[Counsel]: We think "QUESTION: Isn't that your position in its ultimate effect? "[Counsel]: If that were his objection, we would be quite confident in coming to the District Court of the District of Columbia ourselves, if he had objected on that basis. "QUESTION: No, I said, he didn't object; he says, we're interposing no objection because your state voted right at the last election. Now what if he did that? Would that be reviewable? In your submission, it would not be; isn't that correct? "[Counsel]: It would not-it would not fall within the kind of review being sought here. "QUESTION: Exactly. "[Counsel]: I don't think we want to go so far as to say that what the Attorney General— "QUESTION: Well, your argument does go, and necessarily goes that far, as I understand it; and I don't find that shocking." Tr. of Oral Arg. 52-53. 491 MARSHALL, J., dissenting ment mechanism to be vitiated at the whim of an Attorney General. Legal analysis supports the conclusion that Congress did no such thing. But today, the majority puts aside both common sense and legal analysis, relying instead on fiat. I dissent. I A I agree with the majority that the dispositive issue in this case is whether Congress has precluded all judicial review of the Attorney General's failure to enter an objection to implementation of a state statute submitted to him for review under § 5.2 And, as the majority notes, it is indeed "well settled that 'judicial review of a final agency action by an aggrieved person will not be cut off unless there is persuasive reason to believe that such was the purpose of Congress."" Ante, at 501, quoting Abbott Laboratories v. Gardner, 387 U. S. 136, 140 (1967). If the Court applied rather than merely acknowledged this standard, the judgment below would be reversed. The Voting Rights Act does not explicitly preclude review of the Attorney General's actions under § 5. The absence 2 The court below, in addition to finding that Congress had barred review, held that the Attorney General's actions under § 5 are not reviewable because they are not "adjudicatory" and because objecting voters have an adequate remedy in their right to challenge the constitutionality of state laws to which the Attorney General has failed to object. The court also concluded that the possibility of bringing a constitutional action prevents voters from attaining the status of persons "adversely affected or aggrieved," 5 U. S. C. § 702, by the Attorney General's failure to object. 425 F. Supp. 331, 337-339. I take the majority to have rejected these holdings, since the Court would not need to consider whether Congress had precluded review if it agreed with the District Court that appellants did not have standing or that the failure to object is not a reviewable agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U. S. C. § 704. Since the majority rejects these holdings, I merely note that in my view, these alternative holdings of the District Court are patently erroneous. MARSHALL, J., dissenting 432 U.S. of such a provision places on appellees "the heavy burden of overcoming the strong presumption that Congress did not mean to prohibit all judicial review of [the Attorney General's] decision[s]." Dunlop v. Bachowski, 421 U. S. 560, 567 (1975). The normal "strong" presumption is strengthened still further in this case by the express prohibition, contained in § 4 (b) of the Act, 42 U. S. C. § 1973b (b), of judicial review of the Attorney General's determinations under that section as to which States are covered by the Act. If the Congress that wrote § 4 had also intended to preclude review of the same officer's actions under § 5, it would certainly have said so. The Court makes no effort to explain why the congressional silence in § 5 should be treated as the equivalent of the congressional statement in § 4. Not only is there nothing in § 5 precluding review, there is also, as the Court admits, "no legislative history bearing directly on the issue of reviewability of the Attorney General's actions under § 5." Ante, at 503. Thus, all the Court offers in support of its conclusion that the strengthened presumption of reviewability should be disregarded in this case is an inference that review must be foreclosed to serve the assertedly primary congressional purpose of limiting the time during which covered States are prevented from implementing new legislation. That inference is purportedly drawn from an inquiry into "the role played by the Attorney General within 'the context of the entire legislative scheme.' Ante, at 501, quoting Abbott Laboratories v. Gardner, supra, at 141. In fact, however, the Court completely ignores the Attorney General; the majority's version of § 5 requires a covered State to submit its statutes to a mailing address at the Department of Justice and to wait for 60 days before implementing 3 This explicit statutory preclusion was decisive in Briscoe v. Bell, ante, p. 404. The conclusion in that case that review is precluded when Congress says so obviously does not support the conclusion that review is also precluded when Congress has not said so. |