Davis v. Mann
Encyclopedia
Davis v. Mann, 377 U.S. 678
(1964) was a United States Supreme Court
which was one of a series of cases decided in 1964 that ruled that state legislature districts had to be roughly equal in population. It was issued along with Reynolds v. Sims
and cites that case the opinion.
and Fairfax County
, Virginia
challenged the apportionment of the Virginia General Assembly. Voters from Norfolk, Virginia
were permitted to intervene as plaintiffs and on appeal, the United States intervened as amicus curiae to support the appellees.
Under the 1962 redistricting statute, in order to keep counties and cities wholly in a district, there were wide disparities in the population of Senate and House of Delegates districts. Arlington County, for example, was apportioned one senator for its 163,401 persons, only .61 of the representation to which it would be entitled on a strict population basis, while the smallest senatorial district, with respect to population, had only 61,730, and the next smallest 63,703. The District Court found "that the maximum population-variance ratio between the most populous and least populous senatorial districts is 2.65-to-1. Under the 1962 senatorial apportionment, applying 1960 population figures, approximately 41.1% of the State's total population reside in districts electing a majority of the members of that body." Davis at 687-688.
, 369 U.S. 186 (1962), the Court went further in order to correct what seemed to it to be egregious examples of malapportionment which were serious enough to undermine the premises underlying republic
an government. Before Reynolds, urban counties and cities, like those in which the plaintiffs resided, were often drastically underrepresented in state legislatures. This was presented as one of the defenses of the Commonwealth, but the Court rejected this defense, saying "Not only does this explanation lack legal merit, but it also fails to conform to the facts. Some Virginia urban areas, such as Richmond, by comparison with Arlington, Fairfax and Norfolk, appear to be quite adequately represented in the General Assembly." Davis at 692.
The Virginia case also presented a different argument regarding the presence of large numbers of military personnel in the affected city and counties. However, the court reject appellants' argument dismissing it as a post-hoc explanation, saying there was no evidence that the legislature considered military personnel in drawing the 1962 districts.
Justice Potter Stewart
issued a concurrence, in which he argued that wide disparities in population could be constitutional if the Commonwealth could articulate non-discriminatory reasons, but held that the Commonwealth could advance "no rational basis for the disfavoring of Arlington, Fairfax and Norfolk." Davis at 695.
Justice John Marshall Harlan II
reiterated and adopted his dissent in Reynolds v. Sims.
Case citation
Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...
(1964) was a United States Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
which was one of a series of cases decided in 1964 that ruled that state legislature districts had to be roughly equal in population. It was issued along with Reynolds v. Sims
Reynolds v. Sims
Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 was a United States Supreme Court case that ruled that state legislature districts had to be roughly equal in population.-Facts:...
and cites that case the opinion.
Facts
Voters from Arlington CountyArlington County, Virginia
Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The land that became Arlington was originally donated by Virginia to the United States government to form part of the new federal capital district. On February 27, 1801, the United States Congress organized the area as a subdivision of...
and Fairfax County
Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
challenged the apportionment of the Virginia General Assembly. Voters from Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
were permitted to intervene as plaintiffs and on appeal, the United States intervened as amicus curiae to support the appellees.
Under the 1962 redistricting statute, in order to keep counties and cities wholly in a district, there were wide disparities in the population of Senate and House of Delegates districts. Arlington County, for example, was apportioned one senator for its 163,401 persons, only .61 of the representation to which it would be entitled on a strict population basis, while the smallest senatorial district, with respect to population, had only 61,730, and the next smallest 63,703. The District Court found "that the maximum population-variance ratio between the most populous and least populous senatorial districts is 2.65-to-1. Under the 1962 senatorial apportionment, applying 1960 population figures, approximately 41.1% of the State's total population reside in districts electing a majority of the members of that body." Davis at 687-688.
The Court's opinion
Having already overturned its ruling that redistricting was a purely political question in Baker v. CarrBaker v. Carr
Baker v. Carr, , was a landmark United States Supreme Court case that retreated from the Court's political question doctrine, deciding that redistricting issues present justiciable questions, thus enabling federal courts to intervene in and to decide reapportionment cases...
, 369 U.S. 186 (1962), the Court went further in order to correct what seemed to it to be egregious examples of malapportionment which were serious enough to undermine the premises underlying republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
an government. Before Reynolds, urban counties and cities, like those in which the plaintiffs resided, were often drastically underrepresented in state legislatures. This was presented as one of the defenses of the Commonwealth, but the Court rejected this defense, saying "Not only does this explanation lack legal merit, but it also fails to conform to the facts. Some Virginia urban areas, such as Richmond, by comparison with Arlington, Fairfax and Norfolk, appear to be quite adequately represented in the General Assembly." Davis at 692.
The Virginia case also presented a different argument regarding the presence of large numbers of military personnel in the affected city and counties. However, the court reject appellants' argument dismissing it as a post-hoc explanation, saying there was no evidence that the legislature considered military personnel in drawing the 1962 districts.
Justice Potter Stewart
Potter Stewart
Potter Stewart was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. During his tenure, he made, among other areas, major contributions to criminal justice reform, civil rights, access to the courts, and Fourth Amendment jurisprudence.-Education:Stewart was born in Jackson, Michigan,...
issued a concurrence, in which he argued that wide disparities in population could be constitutional if the Commonwealth could articulate non-discriminatory reasons, but held that the Commonwealth could advance "no rational basis for the disfavoring of Arlington, Fairfax and Norfolk." Davis at 695.
Justice John Marshall Harlan II
John Marshall Harlan II
John Marshall Harlan was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 1955 to 1971. His namesake was his grandfather John Marshall Harlan, another associate justice who served from 1877 to 1911.Harlan was a student at Upper Canada College and Appleby College and...
reiterated and adopted his dissent in Reynolds v. Sims.
Aftermath
The Commonwealth of Virginia redrew its legislative districts so that they were equipopulous, based on the 1960 decennial census data, in time for the 1967 elections.See also
- One person, one vote
- Rotten boroughRotten boroughA "rotten", "decayed" or pocket borough was a parliamentary borough or constituency in the United Kingdom that had a very small electorate and could be used by a patron to gain undue and unrepresentative influence within Parliament....
, an English phenomenon - List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 377