By yielding to the demand for a judicial remedy in this instance, the Court, in my view, does a disservice both to itself and to the broader values of our system of government. 42. 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. Id. [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. 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. This article was published more than5 years ago. at 663. In some of the States, the difference is very material. Mr. Justice Frankfurter's Colegrove opinion contended that Art. The Supreme Court granted certiorari. . [sic] and might materially affect the appointments. 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.". Which of the following clauses in the Constitution gives Congress the authority to make whatever laws are "necessary and proper" in order to execute its enumerated powers? One of the three judges on the panel dissented from the result. . 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. [n25] At last those who supported representation of the people in both houses and those who supported it in neither were brought together, some expressing the fear that, if they did not reconcile their differences, "some foreign sword will probably do the work for us." Tennessee had undergone a population shift in which thousands of people flooded urban areas, abandoning the rural countryside. 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. at 367 (James Madison, Virginia). . Since the difference between the largest and smallest districts in Iowa is 89,250, and the average population per district in Iowa is only 393,934, Iowa's 7 Representatives might well lose their seats as well. Justice William Brennan delivered the 6-2 decision. . Elected politicians are the real locus of executive power. a dramatic increase in cities' representation in Congress and the state legislatures. at 322, 446-449, 486, 527-528 (James Madison of Virginia); id. How to redraw districts was a "political" question rather than a judicial one, and should be up to state governments, the attorneys explained. 13. 41.See, e.g., 2 The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution (2d Elliot ed. a. Construct the appropriate control chart and determine the LCL and UCL. at 467 (Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts); id. at 180, 456 (Hugh Williamson of North Carolina); id. 16.See, e.g., id. The constitutional requirement in Art. Since then, despite repeated efforts to obtain congressional action again, Congress has continued to leave the problem and its solution to the States. . supra, 93. . I, 2, lays down the ipse dixit "one person, one vote" in congressional elections. [n55][p47]. Other provisions of the Constitution would, of course, be relevant, but, so far as Art. At its founding, the Constitution was approved by the people of each state, voting in referenda. The statute offered a way for Tennessee to handle apportionment of senators and representatives as its population shifted and grew. Luce points to the "quite arbitrary grant of representation proportionate to three fifths of the number of slaves" as evidence that, even in the House, "the representation of men as men" was not intended. at 286, 465-466 (Alexander Hamilton of New York); id. The principle decided in Marbury v. Madison has always been regarded as axiomatic in Australian constitutional law. of representatives . . In the absence of a reapportionment, all the Representatives from a State found to have violated the standard would presumably have to be elected at large. 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. Some delegates opposed election by the people. 57 (Cooke ed.1961), 389. 459,706399,78259,924, SouthCarolina(6). Writing legislation is difficult, and members will let other members do it. ; H.R. 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. Moreover, by focusing exclusively on numbers in disregard of the area and shape of a congressional district as well as party affiliations within the district, the Court deals in abstractions which will be recognized even by the politically unsophisticated to have little relevance to the realities of political life. For a period of about 50 years, therefore, Congress, by repeated legislative act, imposed on the States the requirement that congressional districts be equal in population. at 357. Soon after the Constitution was adopted, James Wilson of Pennsylvania, by then an Associate Justice of this Court, gave a series of lectures at Philadelphia in which, drawing on his experience as one of the most active members of the Constitutional Convention, he said: [A]ll elections ought to be equal. [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. The question was up, and considered. They brought this class action under 42 U.S.C. . of the yearly value of forty shillings, and been rated and actually paid taxes to this State. v. Varsity Brands, Inc. Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer, A Tennessee resident brought suit against the Secretary of State claiming that the failure to redraw the legislative districts every ten years, as outlined in the state. Carr and Wesberry v. Sanders have been argued before Australias High Court. . 951,527216,371735,156, Utah(2). 8266, 86th Cong., 1st Sess. The purpose was to adjust to changes in the states population. Three levels of federal courts Supreme, Circuit (Appellate), Federal district Stare decisis Let the decision stand. However, in my view, Brother HARLAN has clearly demonstrated that both the historical background and language preclude a finding that Art. (Cooke ed.1961) 369. a political system in which both levels of governmentnational and stateare active in nearly all areas of policy and share sovereign authority. Act of June 25, 1842, 2, 5 Stat. . . I, 4, as placing "into the hands of the state legislatures" the power to regulate elections, but retaining for Congress "self-preserving power" to make regulations lest "the general government . . Justice Felix Frankfurter dissented, joined by Justice John Marshall Harlan. 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. ; H.R. 660,345237,235423,110, Georgia(10). . . During the Revolutionary War, the rebelling colonies were loosely allied in the Continental Congress, a body with authority to do little more than pass resolutions and issue requests for men and supplies. 552,582278,703273,879, Indiana(11). ; H.R. . [n34], It would defeat the principle solemnly embodied in the Great Compromise -- equal representation in the House for equal numbers of people -- for us to hold that, within the States, legislatures may draw the lines of congressional districts in such a way as to give some voters a greater voice in choosing a Congressman than others. 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. [n6][p25]. 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. at 257 (Charles Pinckney, South Carolina). The Court issued its ruling on February 17, 1964. Federal courts could create discoverable and manageable standards for granting relief in equal protection cases. . . 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. Why? The populations of the districts are available in the biographical section of the Congressional Directory, 88th Cong., 2d Sess. 3 & 6 & 8 & 5 \\ [n40] In the state conventions, speakers urging ratification of the Constitution emphasized the theme of equal representation in the House which had permeated the debates in Philadelphia. . [n39]. . 39-40. . . [n5][p22]. [n45][p17]. The only remedy to his lack of representation would be a federal court order to require re-apportionment, the attorneys told the Court. It was impossible to foresee all the abuses that might be made of the discretionary power. But if they be regulated properly by the state legislatures, the congressional control will very probably never be exercised. One would expect, at the very least, some reference to Art. 369 U.S. at 232. The provisions for apportioning Representatives and direct taxes have been amended by the Fourteenth and Sixteenth Amendments, respectively. In The Federalist, No. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/baker-v-carr-4774789. Which term best describes Switzerland's form of government? 2. 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).