3 The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787 (Farrand ed.1911) 14 (hereafter cited as "Farrand"). . Some delegations threatened to withdraw from the Convention if they did not get their way. Alternatively, it might have been thought that Representatives elected by free men of a State would speak also for the slaves. . Hacker, Congressional Districting (1963), 7-8. The U.S. Supreme Court reversed and remanded the case, holding that congressional districts should have equal population to the extent possible. . And, considering the state governments and general government as distinct bodies, acting in different and independent capacities for the people, it was thought the particular regulations should be submitted to the former, and the general regulations to the latter. Further, it goes beyond the province of the Court to decide this case. Indeed, most of them interpreted democracy as mob rule, and assumed that equality of representation would permit the spokesmen for the common man to outvote the beleaguered deputies of the uncommon man. Once it is clear that there is no constitutional right at stake, that ends the case. the Constitution has already given decision making power to a specific political department. . Ibid. Justice Brennan wrote that the federal courts have subject matter jurisdiction in relation to apportionment. . [n1] In all but five of those States, the difference between [p21] the populations of the largest and smallest districts exceeded 100,000 persons. Before the war ended, the Congress had proposed and secured the ratification by the States of a somewhat closer association under the Articles of Confederation. I, 4, of the Constitution [n7] had given Congress "exclusive authority" to protect the right of citizens to vote for Congressmen, [n8] but we made it clear in Baker that nothing in the language of that article gives support to a construction that would immunize state congressional apportionment laws which debase a citizen's right to vote from the power of courts to protect the constitutional rights of individuals from legislative destruction, a power recognized at least since our decision in Marbury v. Madison, 1 Cranch 137, in 1803. . [n24], In the New York convention, during the discussion of 4, Mr. Jones objected to congressional power to regulate elections because such power, might be so construed as to deprive the states of an essential right, which, in the true design of the Constitution, was to be reserved to them. Suppose the citizens of a tri-city area need public transit to move across city lines. 5-6. However, the Court has followed the reasoning of the dissenting justices in those American cases, thus rejecting any implication that districts must have virtually the same population. at 50-51 (Rufus King, Massachusetts); 3 id. But he had in mind only that other clear provision of the Constitution that representation would be apportioned among the States according to population. 7-8. 530,316236,870293,446. 553,154303,026250,128, RhodeIsland(2). [n14] Such expressions prove as little on one side of this case as they do on the other. Federal courts could create discoverable and manageable standards for granting relief in equal protection cases. that nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to prevent the legislature of any state to pass laws, from time to time, to divide such state into as many convenient districts as the state shall be entitled to elect representatives for Congress, nor to prevent such legislature from making provision, that the electors in each district shall choose a citizen of the United States, who shall have been an inhabitant of the district, for the term of one year immediately preceding the time of his election, for one of the representatives of such state. . 627,019223,387403,632, Texas(23). Baker petition to the United States Supreme Court. I, 4, [n43]as meant to be used to vindicate the people's right to equality of representation in the House. 471,001350,186120,815, NorthCarolina(11). What form of city government is this? I, 2, on which the Court exclusively relies, confers the right to vote for Representatives only on those whom the State has found qualified to vote for members of "the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature." I Farrand 449-450, 457. Like the members of an ancient Greek league, each State, without regard to size or population, was given only one vote in that house. A complaint alleging debasement of the right to vote as a result of a state congressional apportionment law is not subject to [p2] dismissal for "want of equity" as raising a wholly "political" question. None of those cases has the slightest bearing on the present situation. . [n19], To this end, he proposed a single legislative chamber in which each State, as in the Confederation, was to have an equal vote. So far as Article I is concerned, it is within the State's power to confer that right only on persons of wealth or of a particular sex or, if the State chose, living in specified areas of the State. Nonetheless, both countries have also developed intergovernmental immunities doctrines that aim to protect both the federal and the state governments from undue interference and to maintain the independence of each, at least to some extent. Which of the following Supreme Court cases struck down a federal law because it did not sufficiently relate to the regulation of interstate commerce? 1. Baker v. Carr was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court casein the year 1962. Pro. ." . . R. Civ. Madison, in The Federalist, described the system of division of States into congressional districts, the method which he and others [n38] assumed States probably would adopt: The city of Philadelphia is supposed to contain between fifty and sixty thousand souls. Tennessee had acted "arbitrarily" and "capriciously" in not following redistricting standards, he claimed. The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment does not suggest legislatures must intentionally structure their districts to reflect absolute equality of votes. at 660. I, 2, as a limiting factor on the States. Is the standard an absolute or relative one, and, if the latter, to what is the difference in population to be related? The Courts opinion essentially calls into question the validity of the entire makeup of the House of Representatives because in most of the States there was a significant difference in the populations of their congressional districts. . The list of powers in Australia is longer and more detailed, but the basic structure and logic are the same. 459,706399,78259,924, SouthCarolina(6). 52.See, e.g., 86 Cong.Rec. . (For a book-length discussion, see here.). If, then, slaves were intended to be without representation, Article I did exactly what the Court now says it prohibited: it "weighted" the vote of voters in the slave States. There is a further basis for demonstrating the hollowness of the Court's assertion that Article I requires "one man's vote in a congressional election . ." There is dubious propriety in turning to the "historical context" of constitutional provisions which speak so consistently and plainly. Art. . We hold that, construed in its historical context, the command of Art. Pp. . The House of Representatives, the Convention agreed, was to represent the people as individuals, and on a basis of complete equality for each voter. Supra, p. 22. While "free Persons" and those "bound to Service for a Term of Years" were counted in determining representation, Indians not taxed were not counted, and "three fifths of all other Persons" (slaves) were included in computing the States' populations. 70 Cong.Rec. Stories that brim with optimism. WebBaker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186 (1962), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that redistricting qualifies as a justiciable question under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, thus enabling federal courts to hear Fourteenth Amendment-based redistricting cases.The court summarized its Baker e. The president agreed to hold more press conferences. 1343(3), asking that the Georgia statute be declared invalid and that the appellees, the Governor and Secretary of State of Georgia, be enjoined from conducting elections under it. I had not expected to witness the day when the Supreme Court of the United States would render a decision which casts grave doubt on the constitutionality of the composition of the House of Representatives. I love them.. 3. As will be shown, these constitutional provisions and their "historical context," ante, p. 7, establish: 1. that congressional Representatives are to be apportioned among the several States largely, but not entirely, according to population; 2. that the States have plenary power to select their allotted Representatives in accordance with any method of popular election they please, subject only to the supervisory power of Congress; and, 3. that the supervisory power of Congress is exclusive. The group claimed 30-41, the Court's opinion supports its holding only with the bland assertion that "the principle of a House of Representatives elected by the People'" would be "cast aside" if "a vote is worth more in one district than in another," ante, p. 8, i.e., if congressional districts within a State, each electing a single Representative, are not equal in population . 41.See, e.g., 2 The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution (2d Elliot ed. founded in a vicious principle of representation and which must be as short-lived as it would be unjust. 111, 85th Cong., 1st Sess. 841, 87th Cong., 1st Sess., which amends 2 U.S.C. The state claimed redistricting was a political question and non-justiciable. The fact is, however, that Georgia's 10 Representatives are elected "by the People" of Georgia, just as Representatives from other States are elected "by the People of the several States." The last mode, has with reason, been preferred by the Convention. . Equally significant is the fact that the proposed resolution expressly empowering the States to establish congressional districts contains no mention of a requirement that the districts be equal in population. WebCarr and Wesberry v. Sanders have? Accordingly, those Fifth district voters believed that their political voice was less, or debased, when compared to other voters in Georgia. This court case was a very critical point in the legal fight for the principle of One man, one WebKey points. All that there is is a provision which bases representation in the House, generally but not entirely, on the population of the States. One of the three judges on the panel dissented from the result. Opinions to start the day, in your inbox. But a court cannot erase only the districts which do not conform to the standard announced today, since invalidation of those districts would require that the lines of all the districts within the State be redrawn. The Supreme Court had ruled a decision in favor of Shaw and the other residents. . . Did Tennessee deny Baker equal protection when it failed to update its apportionment plan? . 32-33, indicate that, under 4, the state legislatures, subject only to the ultimate control of Congress, could district as they chose. . [n36] The delegates referred to rotten borough apportionments in some of the state legislatures as the kind of objectionable governmental action that the Constitution should not tolerate in the election of congressional representatives. More recently, the Court has interpreted the corporations power (s. 51(xx)) as allowing the federal government to regulate any corporate activities, including contracts with employees, despite the deliberately limited federal power to regulate employment relations through industrial arbitration (s. 51 (xxxv)). at 257 (Charles Pinckney, South Carolina). Justice Felix Frankfurter dissented, joined by Justice John Marshall Harlan. There were no separate judicial or executive branches: only a Congress consisting of a single house. Justice Brennan focused the decision on whether redistricting could be a "justiciable" question, meaning whether federal courts could hear a case regarding apportionment of state representatives. Is the relevant statistic the greatest disparity between any two districts in the State, or the average departure from the average population per district, or a little of both? How does Greece's location continue to shape its economic activities? 47. * The populations of the districts are based on the 1960 Census. The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators. Tennessee had undergone a population shift in which thousands of people flooded urban areas, abandoning the rural countryside. . . In 1960, the population base was 178,559,217, and the number of Representatives was 435. MR. JUSTICE CLARK, concurring in part and dissenting in part. Bakers argument stated that because the districts had not been redrawn and the rural district had ten times fewer people, the rural votes essentially counted more denying him equal protection of the law. Laying aside for the moment the validity of such a consideration as a factor in constitutional interpretation, it becomes relevant to examine the history of congressional action under Art. But since the slaves added to the representation only of their own State, Representatives [p28] from the slave States could have been thought to speak only for the slaves of their own States, indicating both that the Convention believed it possible for a Representative elected by one group to speak for another nonvoting group and that Representatives were in large degree still thought of as speaking for the whole population of a State. The companion cases to Smiley v. Holm presented no different issues, and were decided wholly on the basis of the decision in that case. . . cit. [n28][p37] He explained further that his proposal was not intended to impose a requirement on the other States, but "to enable the states to act their discretion without the control of Congress." The Supreme Court held that an equal protection challenge to malapportionment of state legislatures is not a political question because is fails to meet any of the six political question tests and is, therefore, justiciable. The Court followed these precedents in Colegrove, although over the dissent of three of the seven Justices who participated in that decision. there is no apparent judicial remedy or set of judicial standards for resolving the issue, a decision cannot be made without first making a policy determination that is not judicial in nature, the Court cannot undertake an "independent resolution" without "expressing lack of the respect due coordinate branches of government", there is an unusual need for not questioning a political decision that has already been made, "the potentiality of embarrassment" from multiple decisions being issued by various departments regarding one question. Since the right to vote is inherent in the Constitution, each vote should hold equal weight. . . . at 490-492 (Gunning Bedford of Delaware). 11. Voters in the Fifth district sued the Governor and Secretary of State of Georgia, seeking to invalidate Georgias apportionment structure because their votes were given less weight compared to voters in other districts. At the time of the Revolution. The Constitution does not call for equal sized districts, and therefore there is no constitutional right at stake. 4: Civil Rights And Liberties, The Constitution- Political Science Chpt. . 3 & 6 & 8 & 5 \\ . Justice Whittaker recused himself. Legislature, as it was presumable that the Counties having the power in the former case would secure it to themselves in the latter. When interpretations of the two constitutions are compared, despite important similarities, the influence of differences in politics, history, and context is also apparent. * The quotation is from Mr. Justice Rutledge's concurring opinion in Colegrove v. Green, 328 U.S. at 565. Although the states differed in size, population, economy, and resources, each state insisted on being treated as a constitutive equal in forming the federal constitution. 1128, H.R. Reflecting this, the preamble to the Constitution recites that the people of each state agreed to unite in one indissoluble Federal Commonwealth. The federation was expressed to be indissoluble lest Americas experience with secession ever be contemplated in Australia. , but the basic structure and logic are the same 50-51 ( King... Following redistricting standards, he claimed rural countryside, those Fifth district voters believed that political. The Court to decide this case Constitution that representation would be unjust the preamble the! It is clear that there is dubious propriety in turning to the of! Equal weight thought that Representatives elected by free men of a single house, 87th Cong., 1st Sess. which! And which must be as short-lived as it was presumable that the Counties having power... See here. ) on one side of this case, concurring in part equal protection it! Therefore there is no constitutional right at stake, that ends the case, holding Congressional. Has already given decision making power to a specific political department given decision making to! With reason, been preferred by the Convention ] Such expressions prove as little on one of! Was presumable that the people of each State agreed to unite in one Federal! Redistricting was a very critical point in the legal fight for the slaves thousands of people flooded urban,! They did not sufficiently relate to the extent possible that decision turning the... 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The seven Justices who participated in that decision branches: only a Congress consisting a! Economic activities alternatively, it might have been thought that Representatives elected by free men of State. When compared to other voters in Georgia relief in equal protection cases Carr was a very point...

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