This cartoon was released in 1963, shortly after the Baker v. Carr verdict. It shows a senator examining himself under a "Baker probe" microscope, symbolizing the impact that the case had on how senators are elected.
| Baker v. Carr 1962 |
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This cartoon was released in 1963, shortly after the Baker v. Carr verdict. It shows a senator examining himself under a "Baker probe" microscope, symbolizing the impact that the case had on how senators are elected. |
SYNOPSIS OF CASE:
The 1962 Supreme Court case of Baker v. Carr asked whether the Supreme Court has jurisdiction over questions of legislative apportionment. Charles W. Baker and other Tennessee citizens accused the state of failing to reapportion the state legislature for 60 years. They claimed that because the state ignored significant economic growth and population shifts, urban votes had become diluted. By not changing its election district boundaries, Tennessee gave rural citizens greater proportional representation than their counterparts in the growing cities. Baker claimed that this failure to reapportion was done for political purposes. It facilitated the re-election of incumbent legislators and weakened the voting power of minorities, a majority of whom lived in Memphis or other cities. Baker challenged legislative apportionment on the grounds that it violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.
MAIN CHARACTERS:
LEGAL/CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUE(S):
MAJORITY OPINION:
Justice William J. Brennan, Jr., declared that the Fourteenth Amendment equal protection issues, which Baker and others raised in this case, could be evaluated by the judicial system. Courts could direct that district boundaries be redrawn to ensure citizens political rights, but where the lines would be drawn should be resolved by the legislature.
PRECEDENT SET:
The ruling of Baker v. Carr opened the floodgates for cases involving unconstitutional apportionment schemes in many states. Within nine months of the decision, suits for reapportionment were brought in at least 34 states. One such case, Reynolds v. Sims (1964), established that the principle of equal representation -- "one man, one vote" -- must be the primary consideration in apportionment plans for both the House of Representatives and the Senate.