Wesberry v. Sanders
Wesberry v. Sanders | |
---|---|
Holding | |
The Constitution requires that members of the House of Representatives be selected by districts composed, as nearly as is practicable, of equal population. | |
Court membership | |
| |
Case opinions | |
Majority | Black, joined by Warren, Douglas, Brennan, White, Goldberg |
Concur/dissent | Clark |
Dissent | Harlan, joined by Stewart (in part) |
Laws applied | |
U.S. Const., art. I, § 2. | |
This case overturned a previous ruling or rulings | |
Colegrove v. Green, 328 U.S. 549 (1946) |
Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1 (1964), was a landmark
In his
Decision
No right is more precious in a free country than that of having a voice in the election of those who make the laws under which, as good citizens, we must live. Other rights, even the most basic, are illusory if the right to vote is undermined.
Our Constitutionleaves no room for classification of people in a way that unnecessarily abridges this right.
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Writing for the Court majority in Wesberry, Justice Black argued that a reading of the debates of the Constitutional Convention demonstrated conclusively that the Framers had meant, in using the phrase “by the People,” to guarantee equality of representation in the election of Members of the House of Representatives.[2]
Dissent
Writing in dissent,
See also
- Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186 (1962): Redistricting qualifies as a justiciable question, thus enabling federal courts to hear redistricting cases.
- Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 (1964): Districts in State Legislatures must be approximately equal in population.
- Thornburg v. Gingles, 478 U.S. 30 (1986): State Legislative multimember district invalid where three criteria met such that "...a bloc voting majority must usually be able to defeat candidates supported by a politically cohesive, geographically insular minority group."
- Miller v. Johnson, 515 U.S. 900 (1995):
- Alabama Legislative Black Caucus v. Alabama, 575 U.S. ___ (2015): Racial gerrymandering claims must be considered district-by-district, rather than by looking at the state as an undifferentiated whole.
- List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 376
- One Person, One Vote
References
- ^ "Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1 (1964), at 17-18". Justia US Supreme Court Center. February 17, 1964. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
- ^ a b Congressional Districting – United States Constitution
Further reading
- Carpenter, Richard V. (1964), "Wesberry v. Sanders: A Case of Oversimplification", Villanova Law Review, 9: 415.
- Weiss, Jonathan (1964), "An Analysis of Wesberry v. Sanders", Southern California Law Review, 8: 67.
External links
- Text of Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1 (1964) is available from: Findlaw Justia Library of Congress