Clemons v. Department of Commerce
Encyclopedia
Clemons v. Department of Commerce (see also United States congressional apportionment#Controversy and history) was a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi on September 17, 2009, and unsuccessfully appealed to the United States Supreme Court, that challenged the constitutionality of the law
setting membership in the United States House of Representatives
at 435 members.
Based on the principle of one person, one-vote, the suit cited a lack of compliance with Article I, Section 2 and Amendment XIV, Section 2 of the United States Constitution
that "Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers" and asked that the court declare the current apportionment system to be unconstitutional.
, even if significant voter inequality results. The plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal to the United States Supreme Court on August 26, 2010. On November 17, 2010, the government filed a motion to dismiss the case or affirm the lower court decision (against the plaintiffs). The appellants' Reply Brief was filed November 22, 2010, completing the cycle of filings. The court considered the case in the conference of December 10, 2010.
On December 13, 2010, the complaint was vacated and remanded with instructions to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. This essentially leaves the case as if it never occurred, leaving open the possibility of a future lawsuit to the same effect, but also throwing out the extensive legal analysis done by both parties.
Public Law 62-5
-Subsequent apportionment:For the first and only time, Congress failed to pass an apportionment act after the 1920 census. This left the allocations of the Act of 1911 in place until the 1930 census. The Reapportionment Act of 1929 established a method for reallocating seats among the states,...
setting membership in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
at 435 members.
The case
The case, in brief, asked the court to decide three major points:- Does the Constitution’s requirement of one person, one-vote [see also Reynolds v. SimsReynolds v. SimsReynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 was a United States Supreme Court case that ruled that state legislature districts had to be roughly equal in population.-Facts:...
] apply to the interstate apportionment of the U.S. House of Representatives? - Does the current level of inequality violate this standard?
- Does Congress need to increase the size of the House to remediate this inequality?
Based on the principle of one person, one-vote, the suit cited a lack of compliance with Article I, Section 2 and Amendment XIV, Section 2 of the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
that "Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers" and asked that the court declare the current apportionment system to be unconstitutional.
History of the case and current status
On July 7, 2010, the three-judge panel in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi ruled that Congress has discretion to set the size of the United States House of RepresentativesUnited States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, even if significant voter inequality results. The plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal to the United States Supreme Court on August 26, 2010. On November 17, 2010, the government filed a motion to dismiss the case or affirm the lower court decision (against the plaintiffs). The appellants' Reply Brief was filed November 22, 2010, completing the cycle of filings. The court considered the case in the conference of December 10, 2010.
On December 13, 2010, the complaint was vacated and remanded with instructions to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. This essentially leaves the case as if it never occurred, leaving open the possibility of a future lawsuit to the same effect, but also throwing out the extensive legal analysis done by both parties.
See also
- United States congressional apportionmentUnited States congressional apportionmentUnited States congressional apportionment is the process by which seats in the United States House of Representatives are redistributed amongst the 50 states following each constitutionally mandated decennial census. Each state is apportioned a number of seats which approximately corresponds to its...
- United States congressional apportionment#Controversy and history
- Baker v. CarrBaker v. CarrBaker v. Carr, , was a landmark United States Supreme Court case that retreated from the Court's political question doctrine, deciding that redistricting issues present justiciable questions, thus enabling federal courts to intervene in and to decide reapportionment cases...
- Reynolds v. SimsReynolds v. SimsReynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 was a United States Supreme Court case that ruled that state legislature districts had to be roughly equal in population.-Facts:...