Landmark Supreme Court Case · Voting and representation
Baker v. Carr (1962)
- Decided
- 1962
- Vote
- 6–2
- Opinion
- Justice William J. Brennan Jr.
- Constitutional provisions
Facts of the case
Tennessee had not redrawn its state legislative districts since 1901, even though population had shifted heavily to the cities. As a result, rural votes counted far more than urban votes. Charles Baker, a voter in Shelby County (Memphis), sued.
The constitutional question
Can federal courts hear cases challenging how state legislative districts are drawn, or is that a "political question" for legislatures alone?
The decision
Federal courts can hear such challenges. Malapportionment claims under the Equal Protection Clause are justiciable, meaning courts can decide them, rather than nonjusticiable political questions.
The Court's reasoning
The Court laid out a test for what counts as a political question and concluded that an equal-protection challenge to districting did not meet it.
Why it matters
It opened the door to the "one person, one vote" principle. In Reynolds v. Sims (1964), the Court required state legislative districts to have roughly equal populations, and it applied a similar rule to congressional districts in Wesberry v. Sanders (1964). Legislatures nationwide had to redraw their maps. Chief Justice Earl Warren called Baker the most important case of his tenure.