Baker v. Carr
- Decided
- March 26, 1962
- Docket
- 6
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Cited 6,173 timesNo negative treatment found in this library
What later courts said
- recognizing that the right to vote is infringed by false tally or by stuffing the ballot box — Ned L. Siegel, Georgette Sosa Douglas v. Theresa Lepore, Charles E. Burton (2000)
- holding that a reapportionment case is not foreclosed from judicial review if it is based on the Equal Protection Clause rather than the Guarantee Clause — Wyoming v. United States Department of the Interior (2005)
- concluding that individual Tennessee voters had standing to challenge the constitutionality of a state election statute — City of Memphis, Tennessee v. Tre Hargett, Secretary of State (2013)
Each line is a later court’s own words about this case, not a summary. Read the opinion before relying on it.
How the opinion begins
Mr. Justice Brennan delivered the opinion of the Court.
This civil action was brought under 42 U. S. C. §§ 1983 and 1988 to redress the alleged deprivation of federal constitutional rights. The complaint, alleging that by means of a 1901 statute of Tennessee apportioning the members of the General Assembly among the State’s 95 counties,[1] “these plaintiffs and others similarly situated, [*188] are denied the equal protection of the laws accorded them by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States by virtue of the debasement of their votes,” was dismissed by a three-judge court convened under 28 U. S. C. § 2281 in the Middle District of Tennessee.[2] The court held that it lacked jurisdiction of the subject matter and also that no claim was stated upon which relief could be granted. 179 F. Supp. 824. We noted probable jurisdiction of the appeal. 364 U. S. 898.[3] We hold that the dismissal was error, and remand the cause to the District Court for trial and further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
The General Assembly of Tennessee consists of the Senate with 33 members and the House of Representatives with 99 members. The Tennessee Constitution provides in Art. II as follows:
Statutes cited
- 42 U.S.C. § 1983
- 28 U.S.C. § 2281
- 28 U.S.C. § 1343
Cite this
Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186 (1962)Read the full opinion
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