Baker v. Carr | Homework Help from the Bill of Rights
In this Homework Help video, learn the story of the landmark Supreme Court case of Baker v. Carr. The case explores the question of a state’s right to control electoral lines otherwise known as gerrymandering.
The case ruling concluded that the Supreme Court could hear cases pertaining to redistricting because of the Equal Protection Clause in the 14th Amendment through the process of incorporation which argues that states must adhere to the protections of guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. How did the ruling in this case contribute to the democratic principle of “one person-one vote”?
0:00 The first half of the 20th century saw the rise of urban America as millions immigrated from other countries and millions more migrated from rural areas to cities. As a result, a relatively quiet political struggle ensued between rural and urban populations. In state legislatures and congressional districts across the country, residents of urban areas fought to gain
0:20 greater representation and equal consent in making laws to challenge the disproportionate political power of their rule counterparts. One Supreme Court case in Tennessee exemplified this rift and raised some important principles. How did the Court support the constitutional principle of rule of law with one person, one vote? This is the case of Baker versus Carr.
0:53 You know those census surveys that make their rounds every ten years in order to count the number of Americans? Those are instrumental as a redraw lines for political districts to ensure that areas are adequately represented in government. This is known as redistricting. The Tennessee state constitution required that legislative districts for the Tennessee State Assembly be redrawn following the federal census,
1:17 administered every ten years based upon population change. The problem was that it was 1959, and Tennessee had not redistricted since. At the time of the case, Charles Baker was a Republican mayor of the urban district of Millington, Tennessee, which had approximately ten times as many residents as some of the state’s rural districts.
1:38 So even though the population of this county far outweighed the surrounding areas, the votes from those rural counties were overrepresented. Due to lack of redistricting. On behalf of himself and other residents of his legislative district, baker filed a lawsuit with the federal district court against the defendant, Tennessee Secretary of State Joe Carr. The lawsuit stated that Baker’s County did
2:00 not receive the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the 14th Amendment by virtue of the debasement or diluting of their votes. Baker lost in the lower courts, which relied on the Supreme Court’s 1946 Colegrove v. Green decision, which held that questions of congressional district apportionment were political questions that cannot be decided by courts.
2:22 Baker then appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case. The case would prove to be highly contentious as the Court remained deadlocked and didn’t hand down any of its decisions for nearly one year following argument. After a nerve-racking case, what would the Court’s decision be? Did the Supreme Court have jurisdiction over questions of legislative redistricting? Well, on March 26, 1962, by a vote of 6-2, the Court decided in favor of Baker.
2:49 Writing for the majority, Justice William Brennan concluded that judicial courts could address the political question and sent the case back to a lower court to determine whether or not Tennessee system violated the 14th Amendment. Noting that the Court carefully took up this question because it normally deferred to the other branches of government and had to establish jurisdiction in this specific case.
3:12 Justices Felix Frankfurter and John Marshall Harlan dissented. Frankfurter argued that the Court’s decision violated the separation of powers between legislatures and courts and that the Court was asserting destructively, novel judicial power. Justice Harlan argued that there was no federal constitutional requirement that the vote of every voter achieved of perfect equality, further stating a mathematical equality
3:33 among voters was simply impossible to achieve. Baker vs. Carr paved the way for 1964’s Reynolds v. Sims, in which the Supreme Court ruled that state legislative districts must be drawn in a manner such that each person’s vote counts equally. After he retired from the Court, Chief Justice Earl Warren called Baker v.
3:56 Carr the most vital decision during his time as a justice because it helped establish the principle of one person, one vote, and restored democratic and equal representation. Throughout state legislatures. Issues raised by Baker v. Carr remain relevant as courts and legislatures debate issues of controversial apportionment and gerrymandering. Will redistricting be the subject of another major Supreme Court case?
4:19 And if so, how high will the stakes be? This was the case of Baker v. Carr. Thank you guys so much for watching. Please, like, share, subscribe and comment down below. We’ll see in the next one.
