Wesberry v. Sanders facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Wesberry v. Sanders |
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| Argued November 18, 1963 Decided February 17, 1964 |
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| Full case name | James P. Wesberry, Jr. et al. v. Carl E. Sanders et al. |
| Citations | 376 U.S. 1 (more)
84 S. Ct. 526; 11 L. Ed. 2d 481
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| Prior history | Wesberry v. Vandiver, 206 F. Supp. 276 (N.D. Ga. 1962), prob. juris. noted, 374 U.S. 802 (1963). |
| 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. | |
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This case overturned a previous ruling or rulings
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| Colegrove v. Green, 328 U.S. 549 (1946) | |
Wesberry v. Sanders was an important case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1964. The Court decided that areas represented by members of the United States House of Representatives must have about the same number of people. This idea is often called "one person, one vote." It means that everyone's vote should count equally.
This case was part of a group of decisions made by the Warren Court. These decisions helped make sure that voting districts were fair. The U.S. Constitution says how many representatives each state gets. But it doesn't say exactly how those representatives should be chosen within each state.
The problem in this case came from Georgia. Some of its voting districts for the House of Representatives had many more people than others. This meant that a vote in a district with fewer people was worth more than a vote in a district with many people.
Associate Justice Hugo Black wrote the main opinion for the Court. He said that the Constitution means that "one person's vote in a congressional election is to be worth as much as another's." This decision changed how voting districts were drawn across the country. Many states had districts with very different populations. Often, people living in cities had less voting power. The decision did not affect the United States Senate. This is because the Constitution clearly states that each state gets two senators, no matter its population.
Contents
What Was the Court's Decision?
Why Did the Supreme Court Rule This Way?
Justice Black, writing for the majority, looked at old discussions from when the Constitution was created. He said these discussions showed that the people who wrote the Constitution wanted equal representation. They used the phrase "by the People" to mean that everyone's vote should be equal. This was especially true for choosing members of the House of Representatives.
Why Did Some Justices Disagree?
What Were the Arguments Against the Decision?
Justice Harlan disagreed with the Court's decision. He argued that the discussions Justice Black mentioned were about a different topic. They were about the "Great Compromise." This compromise decided how states would be represented in Congress.
Justice Harlan also believed that the Constitution gave Congress the power to control how states draw their voting districts. He felt that the Supreme Court was overstepping its power. He thought the Court was making a decision that Congress had already chosen not to make.
Related Court Cases You Might Find Interesting
- Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186 (1962): This case said that federal courts can hear cases about how voting districts are drawn. This opened the door for cases like Wesberry v. Sanders.
- Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 (1964): This case applied the "one person, one vote" rule to state legislatures. It meant that districts for state lawmakers also had to have roughly equal populations.
- One Person, One Vote: This is the main idea behind these important court decisions. It means that every citizen's vote should have equal weight.
