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. [n5][p22]. [n39]. In support of this principle, George Mason of Virginia, argued strongly for an election of the larger branch by the people. The other side of the compromise was that, as provided in Art. The case was heard by a three-judge District Court, which found unanimously, from facts not disputed, that: It is clear by any standard . I Farrand, Records of the Federal Convention (1911) (hereafter Farrand), 48, 86-87, 134-136, 288-289, 299, 533, 534; II Farrand 202. Pro. The Court relies in part on Baker v. Carr, supra, to immunize its present decision from the force of Colegrove. 71. With this single qualification, I join the dissent because I think MR. JUSTICE HARLAN has unanswerably demonstrated that Art. at 550-551. l.Leaving to another day the question of what Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186, did actually decide, it can hardly be maintained on the authority of Baker or anything else, that the Court does not today invalidate Mr. Justice Frankfurter's eminently correct statement in Colegrove that. Appellants are qualified voters in Georgia's Fifth Congressional District, the population of which is two to three times greater than that of some other congressional districts in the State. that the population of the Fifth District is grossly out of balance with that of the other nine congressional districts of Georgia, and, in fact, so much so that the removal of DeKalb and Rockdale Counties from the District, leaving only Fulton with a population of 556,326, would leave it exceeding the average by slightly more than forty percent. 10. Mr. Justice Frankfurter did not, of course, speak for a majority of the Court in Colegrove, but refusal for that reason to give the opinion precedential effect does not justify refusal to give appropriate attention to the views there expressed. It is in the light of such history that we must construe Art. Yet, despite similarities in judicial interpretation, important differences remain. . 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. [n45], This provision for equal districts which the Court exactly duplicates, in effect, was carried forward in each subsequent apportionment statute through 1911. . Members of the first are elected from each state in proportion to that states population; in the second, each state is represented by the same number of senators (in Australia, it is currently 12 senators for each state, while the two mainland territories have two senators each). [n45][p17]. [sic] and might materially affect the appointments. redistricting, violates the Representatives were to be apportioned among the States on the basis of free population plus three-fifths of the slave population. 57 (Cooke ed.1961), 389. . Bridge inspection ratings. 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. (2020, August 28). Our Constitution leaves no room for classification of people in a way that unnecessarily abridges [p18] this right. On the contrary, the Court substitutes its own judgment for that of the Congress. supra, 93-96. . No. The list of powers in Australia is longer and more detailed, but the basic structure and logic are the same. 21, had repealed certain provisions of the Act of Aug. 8, 1911, 37 Stat. 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. This [n19], To this end, he proposed a single legislative chamber in which each State, as in the Confederation, was to have an equal vote. . The five States are Iowa, Maine, New Hampshire, North Dakota, and Rhode Island. Which of the following was a reason the framers of the Constitution created a federal system of government? . [n29] After further discussion of districting, the proposed resolution was modified to read as follows: [Resolved] . But nothing in Baker is contradictory to the view that, political question and other objections to "justiciability" aside, the Constitution vests exclusive authority to deal with the problem of this case in the state legislatures and the Congress. . 51. Readers surely could have fairly taken this to mean, "one person, one vote." Compare N.J.Const., 1776, Art. [n23], Mr. PARSONS contended for vesting in Congress the powers contained in the 4th section [of Art. . . . . ThoughtCo, Aug. 28, 2020, thoughtco.com/baker-v-carr-4774789. Cf. . Sign up. similarities between baker v carr and wesberry v sanders Like its American counterpart, Australias constitution is initially divided into distinct chapters dealing with . Wesberry v. Sanders is a landmark case because it mandated that congressional districts throughout the country must be roughly equal in population. Federal courts could create discoverable and manageable standards for granting relief in equal protection cases. [p24]. This statement in Baker, which referred to our past decisions holding congressional apportionment cases to be justiciable, we believe was wholly correct, and we adhere to it. . . Id. I, 2, of the Constitution gives no mandate to this Court or to any court to ordain that congressional districts within each State must be equal in population. ; H.R. I, sec. I, 4, [n43]as meant to be used to vindicate the people's right to equality of representation in the House. This [p19] Court has so held ever since Smiley v. Holm, 285 U.S. 355 (1932), which is buttressed by two companion cases, Koenig v. Flynn, 285 U.S. 375 (1932), and Carroll v. Becker, 285 U.S. 380 (1932). Subsequently, after giving express attention to the problem, Congress eliminated that requirement, with the intention of permitting the States to find their own solutions. They have submitted the regulation of elections for the Federal Government in the first instance to the local administrations, which, in ordinary cases, and when no improper views prevail, may be both more convenient and more satisfactory; but they have reserved to the national authority a right to interpose whenever extraordinary circumstances might render that interposition necessary to its safety. Contrary to the Court's statement, ante, p. 18, no reader of The Federalist "could have fairly taken . d. Reporters were given less access to cover combat. . . [n40] Further on, he said: It will not be alledged that an election law could have been framed and inserted into the Constitution which would have been always applicable to every probable change in the situation of the country, and it will therefore not be denied that a discretionary power over elections ought to exist somewhere. 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. The provision for representation of each State in the House of Representatives is not a mere exception to the principle framed by the majority; it shows that no such principle is to be found. Ibid. 823,680272,154551,526, Idaho(2). I, 4, is the exclusive remedy. 6. The qualifications on which the right of suffrage depend are not perhaps the same in any two States. . While the majority is correct that congressional districting is something that courts can decide, the case should be remanded so the lower court can hold a hearing on the merits based on the standards provided in Baker v Carr. Baker v. Carr outlined that legislative apportionment is a justiciable non-political question. . a group of citizens proposes a law banning gay marriage in a state, which the public then votes on in an election. 28. We have been told (with a dictatorial air) that this is the last moment for a fair trial in favor of a good Government. . The main reason for this is that Australians modeled their 1901 constitution on the American example. The issue in the case is whether or not the complaint sufficiently alleged a violation of a federal right to the extent a district court would have jurisdiction. . It will, I presume, be as readily conceded that there were only three ways in which this power could have been reasonably modified and disposed, that it must either have been lodged wholly in the National Legislature, or wholly in the State Legislatures, or primarily in the latter and ultimately in the former. Again in Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186, 232, 82 S.Ct. no serious inroads had yet been made upon the privileges of property, which, indeed, maintained in most states a second line of defense in the form of high personal property qualifications required for membership in the legislature. There were no separate judicial or executive branches: only a Congress consisting of a single house. at 489-490 (Rufus King of Massachusetts); id. . It opened the door to numerous historic cases in which the Supreme Court tackled questions of voting equality and representation in government. 47. . v. Varsity Brands, Inc. Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer. Other provisions of the Constitution would, of course, be relevant, but, so far as Art. . 4340, and H.R. WebWesberry sought to invalidate the apportionment statute and enjoin defendants, the Governor and Secretary of State, from conducting elections under it. In a 1946 case, Colegrove v. Green, the Supreme Court had ruled that apportionment should be left to the states to decide, the attorneys argued. Like the members of an ancient Greek league, each State, without regard to size or population, was given only one vote in that house. Far from supporting the Court, the apportionment of Representatives among the States shows how blindly the Court has marched to its decision. [p49]. The delegates were quite aware of what Madison called the "vicious representation" in Great Britain [n35] whereby "rotten boroughs" with few inhabitants were represented in Parliament on or almost on a par with cities of greater population. 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. Pp. 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. A) The only difference in the two cases is that The Baker case was related to state legislative districts. I, 4. . Next, Justice Brennan found that Baker and his fellow plaintiffs had standing to sue because, the voters were alleging "facts showing disadvantage to themselves as individuals.". Only in this context, in order to establish that the right to vote in a congressional election was a right protected by federal law, did the Court hold that the right was dependent on the Constitution and not on the law of the States. . It is not an exaggeration to say that such is the effect of today's decision. [n46]. I love them.. [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." 691, 718, 7 L.Ed.2d 663 (1962), the opinion of the Court recognized that Smiley 'settled the issue in favor of justiciability of questions of congressional redistricting.' There is an obvious lack of criteria for answering questions such as these, which points up the impropriety of the Court's wholehearted but heavy-footed entrance into the political arena. Stories that brim with optimism. . This diversity would be obviously unjust. 328 U.S. at 565. 2. cit. It soon became clear that the Confederation was without adequate power to collect needed revenues or to enforce the rules its Congress adopted. Smiley v. Holm, 285 U.S. 355, Koenig v. Flynn, 285 U.S. 375, and Carroll v. Becker, 285 U.S. 380, concerned the choice of Representatives in the Federal Congress. 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. Section 4 states without qualification that the state legislatures shall prescribe regulations for the conduct of elections for Representatives and, equally without qualification, that Congress may make or [p30] alter such regulations. 1. Partly because the Australian list of federal powers is much longer than the American, less emphasis has been placed on Australias commerce power. [n13] It freezes upon both, for no reason other than that it seems wise to the majority of the present Court, a particular political theory for the selection of Representatives. . Further, it goes beyond the province of the Court to decide this case. May the State consider factors such as area or natural boundaries (rivers, mountain ranges) which are plainly relevant to the practicability of effective representation? . . 1896) 15. [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. This decision, coupled with the one person, one vote opinions decided around the same time, had a massive impact on the makeup of the House of Representatives and on electoral politics in general. [n14] Such expressions prove as little on one side of this case as they do on the other. . . . The Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause says that a state cannot "deny to any person within its jurisdiction theequal protectionof the laws." Govt. 7-8, 18. The U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged probable. . Australian justices have insisted that the commerce regulated under the interstate trade and commerce power really have an interstate character. Accordingly, those Fifth district voters believed that their political voice was less, or debased, when compared to other voters in Georgia. To say that a vote is worth more in one district than in another would not only run counter to our fundamental ideas of democratic government, it would cast aside the principle of a House of Representatives elected "by the People," a principle tenaciously fought for and established at the Constitutional Convention. The democratic theme is further expressed in the Constitution by the declaration that the two houses of the legislature are to be chosen by the people and by the requirement that the Constitution can be amended only by a majority of electors in both the federation as a whole and a majority of the states. I Farrand 449-450, 457. . Wesberry v. Sanders is a landmark case because it mandated that congressional districts throughout the country must be roughly equal in population. Colegrove v. Green, 328 U.S. 549, 564, and 568, n. 3 (1946). . WebBaker v. Carr (1962) is the U.S. Supreme Court case that held that federal courts could hear cases alleging that a states drawing of electoral boundaries, i.e. The last mode, has with reason, been preferred by the Convention. . Reynolds v. Sims: Supreme Court Case, Arguments, Impact, What Is Originalism? . A more obvious departure was the provision that each State shall have a Representative regardless of its population. Wesberry, a voter of the 5 th District of Georgia, filed suit on the basis that his Congressional district had a population 2-3 times larger than other districts in the State, thereby debasing his vote. . The Constitution does not confer on the Court blanket authority to step into every situation where the political branch may be thought to have fallen short. number of people alone [was] the best rule for measuring wealth, as well as representation, and that, if the Legislature were to be governed by wealth, they would be obliged to estimate it by numbers. 5. Is the number of voters or the number of inhabitants controlling? See Thorpe, op. . Plaintiffs sought an injunction to prevent any further elections until the legislature had passed new redistricting laws to A researcher uses this finding to conclude that Charles Tiebout's model of competition is superior to Paul Peterson's because higher levels of satisfaction mean local governments are producing better results in response to citizen movement. . 13, 14. Quite obviously, therefore, Smiley v. Holm does not stand for the proposition which my Brother CLARK derives from it. The delegates did have the former intention and made clear [p27] provision for it. Section 5. [n4] Thus, today's decision impugns the validity of the election of 398 Representatives from 37 States, leaving a "constitutional" House of 37 members now sitting. The Fifth district voters sued the Governor and Secretary of State of Georgia, seeking a declaration that Georgias 1931 apportionment statute was invalid, and that the State should be enjoined from conducting elections under the statute. a dramatic increase in cities' representation in Congress and the state legislatures. . . Justice William Brennan delivered the 6-2 decision. What was an immediate consequence of these rulings? Baker v. Carr: Supreme Court Case, Arguments, Impact - ThoughtCo 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." [n20]. The constitutional right which the Court creates is manufactured out of whole cloth. Ames' remark at the Massachusetts convention is typical: "The representatives are to represent the people." . 276, reversed and remanded. 39-40. [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. Since no slave voted, the inclusion of three-fifths of their number in the basis of apportionment gave the favored States representation far in excess of their voting population. supposes that the State Legislatures will sometimes fail or refuse to consult the common interest at the expense of their local conveniency or prejudices. Federal executive power in Australia is vested in Britains queen and exercised by a governor-general formally appointed by the queen. Textually demonstrable constitutional commitment to another political branch; Lack of judicially discoverable and manageable standards for resolving the issue; Impossibility of deciding the issue without making an initial policy determination of a kind not suitable for judicial discretion; Unusual need for unquestioning adherence to a political decision already made; or. The legislative history of the 1929 Act is carefully reviewed in Wood v. Broom, 287 U.S. 1. . The dissenting and concurring opinions confuse which issues are presented in this case. . cit. Can the Supreme Court rule on a case regarding apportionment? In 1960, the federal census revealed that the state's population had grown by more than a million, totaling 3,567,089, and its voting population had swelled to 2,092,891. Even that is not strictly true unless the word "solely" is deleted. & Pa. have 42/90 of the votes, they can do as they please without a miraculous Union of the other ten; that they will have nothing to do but to gain over one of the ten to make them compleat masters of the rest. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Census of Population: 1960 (hereafter, Census), xiv. . [n10]. 506,854378,499128,355, Montana(2). The truth is that it does not. At the time of the Revolution. . Opinions to start the day, in your inbox. . See also the remarks of Mr. Graham. StateandLargestand, NumberofLargestSmallestSmallest, Representatives**DistrictDistrictDistricts, Arizona(3). As the Court repeatedly emphasizes, delegates to the Philadelphia Convention frequently expressed their view that representation should be based on population. establishment of a federal income tax after the adoption of the Sixteenth Amendment. See Paschal, "The House of Representatives: Grand Depository of the Democratic Principle'?" 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