who was the attorney for reynolds v sims

by Prof. Adella Terry I 4 min read

With him on the brief was Gordon Madison, Assistant Attorney General. Charles Morgan, Jr. argued the cause for appellees in No. 23. With him on the brief for appellees Sims et al. was George Peach Taylor.

Full Answer

What was the case brief for Reynolds v Sims?

Appellee Richmond M. Flowers, Attorney General of Alabama, argued the cause pro se. With him on the brief was Gordon Madison, Assistant Attorney General. Charles Morgan, Jr. argued the cause for appellees in No. 23. With him on the brief for appellees Sims et al. was George Peach Taylor. Jerome A. Cooper filed a

What is the significance of Colegrove v Green and Reynolds v Sims?

REYNOLDS, JUDGE, ET AL. v. SIMS ET AL. No. 23.Supreme Court of United States. Argued November 13, 1963.Decided June 15, 1964. APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA.536 *536 W. McLean Pitts argued the cause for appellants in No. 23 and for appellees in Nos. 27 and 41.

What is the significance of Sims v Sims?

Reynolds v. Sims. EDIT CASE INFORMATION DELETE CASE. 377 U.S. 533 84 S.Ct. 1362 12 L.Ed.2d 506 B. A. REYNOLDS, etc., et al., Appellants, v. M. O. SIMS et al. David J. VANN and Robert S. Vance, Appellants, v. Agnes BAGGETT, Secretary of State of Alabama et al. John W. McCONNELL, Jr., et al., Appellants, v. ... Included among the defendants were ...

Who argued the cause for Appellees Sims et al?

Reynolds v. Sims was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1964. The case was brought by a group of Alabama voters who alleged that the apportionment of Alabama's state legislature violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to United States Constitution.At the time, the Alabama Constitution required that each county have at …

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Who won the case Reynolds v. Sims?

In a majority opinion joined by five other justices, Chief Justice Earl Warren ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause requires states to establish state legislative electoral districts roughly equal in population.

How did the court ultimately resolve the issue in Reynolds v. Sims?

In Reynolds v. Sims (1964), the Supreme Court ruled that the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment requires that the legislative districts across states be equal in population.

What was the court's ruling in Reynolds v. Sims?

Supreme Court of the United StatesReynolds v. Sims / Ruling courtThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. Wikipedia

What is the importance of the Supreme Court case Reynolds v. Sims and Baker v Carr?

In Reynolds v. Sims (1964), using the Supreme Court's precedent set in Baker v. Carr (1962), Warren held that representation in state legislatures must be apportioned equally on the basis of population rather than geographical areas, remarking that “legislators represent people, not acres or trees.” In…

What case violated the Equal Protection Clause?

Brown v. Board of EducationIn 1954, sixty years after Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Brown v. Board of Education that “separate but equal” was unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

What was the Supreme Court decision in Reynolds v. Sims quizlet?

In Reynolds v. Sims, the Supreme Court ruled that population must be the primary consideration.

Who won the Shaw v Reno case?

Reno, 509 U.S. 630 (1993), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in the area of redistricting and racial gerrymandering. The court ruled in a 5–4 decision that redistricting based on race must be held to a standard of strict scrutiny under the equal protection clause.

What is the legal issue that plaintiffs are seeking redress from in Reynolds v. Sims?

[Footnote 6] With respect to relief, they sought a declaration that the existing constitutional and statutory provisions, establishing the present apportionment of seats in the Alabama Legislature, were unconstitutional under the Alabama and Federal Constitutions, and an injunction against the holding of future ...

What was significant about the Supreme Court's decision in Gray v Sanders?

Sanders, 372 U.S. 368 (1963), was a Supreme Court of the United States case dealing with equal representation in regard to the American election system and formulated the famous "one person, one vote" standard applied in this case for "counting votes in a Democratic primary election for the nomination of a United ...

Who won in Baker v Carr?

On March 26, 1962, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled 6-2 in favor of the plaintiffs, finding that apportionment cases are justiciable (i.e., that federal courts have the right to intervene in such cases).

Why did Baker Sue Carr?

The votes of rural citizens were overrepresented compared to those of urban citizens. Baker's argument was that this discrepancy was causing him to fail to receive the "equal protection of the laws" required by the Fourteenth Amendment. Defendant Joe Carr was sued in his position as Secretary of State for Tennessee.

What was the purpose of Reynolds v. Sims?

533 (1964), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that the electoral districts of state legislative chambers must be roughly equal in population. Along with Baker v.

What was the principle of Carr v. Sanders?

Carr (1962) and Wesberry v. Sanders (1964), it was part of a series of Warren Court cases that applied the principle of " one person, one vote " to U.S. legislative bodies. Prior to the case, numerous state legislative chambers had districts containing unequal populations; for example, in the Nevada Senate, the smallest district had 568 people, ...

What was the best Supreme Court decision since 1960?

Sims the "best Supreme Court decision since 1960", with Chemerinsky noting that in his opinion, the decision made American government "far more democratic and representative."

Where did the Sims come from?

Sims arose after voters in Birmingham, Alabama, challenged the apportionment of the Alabama Legislature; the Constitution of Alabama provided for one state senator per county regardless of population differences.

Who said legislators represent people?

Legislators are elected by voters, not farms or cities or economic interests.". In his dissenting opinion, Associate Justice John Marshall Harlan II argued that the Equal Protection Clause was not designed to apply to voting rights.

A. The Language of the Fourteenth Amendment

The Court relies exclusively on that portion of § 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment which provides that no State shall “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws,” and disregards entirely the significance of § 2, which reads:

C. After 1868

The years following 1868, far from indicating a developing awareness of the applicability of the Fourteenth Amendment to problems of apportionment, demonstrate precisely the reverse: that the States retained and exercised the power independently to apportion their legislatures.

D. Today

Since the Court now invalidates the legislative apportionments in six States, and has so far upheld the apportionment in none, it is scarcely necessary to comment on the situation in the States today, which is, of course, as fully contrary to the Court’s decision as is the record of every prior period in this Nation’s history.

E. Other Factors

In this summary of what the majority ignores, note should be taken of the Fifteenth and Nineteenth Amendments.

CONCLUSION

With these cases the Court approaches the end of the third round set in motion by the complaint filed in Baker v. Carr. What is done today deepens my conviction that judicial entry into this realm is profoundly ill-advised and constitutionally impermissible. As I have said before, Wesberry v.

APPENDIX A TO OPINION OF MR. JUSTICE HARLAN, DISSENTING

Statements made in the House of Representatives during the debate on the resolution proposing the Fourteenth Amendment. [*]

APPENDIX B TO OPINION OF MR. JUSTICE HARLAN, DISSENTING

Statements made in the Senate during the debate on the resolution proposing the Fourteenth Amendment. [*]

What is the Supreme Court ruling in Reynolds v. Sims?

Supreme Court ruled that states must create legislative districts that each have a substantially equal number of voters to comply with the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. It is known as the "one person, one vote" case. Justices struck down three apportionment plans for Alabama ...

What was the reaction to the Reynolds decision?

The reaction to the decision was so strong that a United States senator tried to pass a constitutional amendment that would allow states to draw districts based on geography rather than population. The amendment failed.

What was the case against Alabama in 1961?

On August 26, 1961 residents and taxpayers of Jefferson County, Alabama, joined in a lawsuit against the state. They alleged that the legislature had not reapportioned house and senate seats since 1901, despite a large increase in Alabama's population. Without reapportionment, multiple districts were severely underrepresented. Jefferson County, with a population of more than 600,000 received seven seats in the Alabama House of Representatives and one seat in the Senate, while Bullock County, with a population of more than 13,000 received two seats in the Alabama House of Representatives and one seat in the Senate. The residents alleged that this disparity in representation deprived voters of equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment.

Was the 1901 Plan discriminatory?

By the 1960s, the 1901 plan had become "invidiously discriminatory," the attorneys alleged in their brief. The district court had not erred in its finding that neither the Crawford-Webb Act or the 67-member plan could be used as a permanent reapportionment plan, the attorneys argued.

What was the Sims case?

Sims was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1964. The case was brought by a group of Alabama voters who alleged that the apportionment of Alabama's state legislature violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to United States Constitution. At the time, the Alabama Constitution required ...

What was the purpose of the Sims vs Sims case?

Sims. Reynolds v. Sims. Reynolds v. Sims was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1964. The case was brought by a group of Alabama voter s who alleged that the apportionment of Alabama's state legislature violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to United States Constitution.

What is Reynolds v. Sims?

Reynolds v. Sims is famous for, and has enshrined, the “one person, one vote” principle. In this case, the context was with regard to State legislatures. In another case, Wesberry v. Sanders, the Court applied the “one person, one vote” princip le to federal districts for electing members of the House of Representatives.

Why was the District Court's remedy appropriate?

Further, the District Court’s remedy was appropriate because it gave the State an opportunity to fix its own system of apportionment.

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Facts of The Case

Constitutional Questions

Voters from Jefferson County, Alabama, home to the state's largest city of Birmingham, had challenged the apportionment of the Alabama Legislature. The Alabama Constitution provided that there be only one state senator per county. Ratio variances as great as 41 to 1 from one senatorial district to another existed in the Alabama Senate (i.e., the number of eligible voters voting for one senator was in one case 41 times the number of voters in another).

Arguments

Majority Opinion

Dissenting Opinion

Impact

Sources

  • The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees equal protection under the law. This means that individuals are guaranteed the same rights and liberties, regardless of minor or irrelevant differences between them. Did the state of Alabama discriminate against votersin counties with higher populations by giving them the same number of representatives as smaller counties? Ca…
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