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Hadley v. Junior College District - Significance, The Lower Court Rulings, The Supreme Court Ruling, Apportionment Scheme Ruled Unconstitutional

william appellant justices decision

Appellant

Della Hadley et al.

Appellee

The Junior College District of Metropolitan Kansas City, Missouri et al.

Appellant's Claim

That the voting rights of a group of junior college district residents were unconstitutionally diluted in violation of the "one man, one vote" principle.

Chief Lawyer for Appellant

Irving Achtenberg

Chief Lawyer for Appellee

William J. Burrell

Justices for the Court

Hugo Lafayette Black (writing for the Court), Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr., William O. Douglas, Thurgood Marshall, Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting

Warren E. Burger, John Marshall Harlan II, Potter Stewart

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

25 February 1969

Decision

The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment was ruled to apply to the election of trustees to the junior college district.

Related Cases

  • Gray v. Sanders, 372 U.S. 368 (1963).
  • Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 (1964).
  • Avery v. Midland Cougraynty, 390 U.S. 474 (1968).
  • Karcher v. Daggett, 462 U.S. 725 (1983).

Further Readings

  • Biskupic, Joan, and Elder Witt, eds. Congressional Quarterly's Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court, 3rd ed. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1996.

Additional Topics

Hadley v. Junior College District - Significance

Hadley v. Junior College District - The Lower Court Rulings

Hadley v. Junior College District - The Supreme Court Ruling

On 25 February 1970 the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision. It reversed the ruling of the Missouri Supreme Court, holding that "the Fourteenth Amendment requires that the trustees of the junior college district be apportioned in a manner that does not deprive any voter of his right to have his own vote given as much weight, as far as is practicable, as that of any other voter in the junior col…

Hadley v. Junior College District - Apportionment Scheme Ruled Unconstitutional

Next, the Court had to answer the question of whether the apportionment scheme for the elections in this case did in fact violate "one man, one vote." Based upon an examination of the statistical formulas used by the district to determine the make-up of the trustee board, the Court concluded that it did: Although the statutory scheme reflects to some extent a principle of equal voting power, it do…

Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections - Significance, Further Readings [next] [back] Griswold v. Connecticut: 1964 - 1879 Law Alive And Well, On To The Supreme Court, Decision Reverses Convictions, Griswold, Applied Outside The Marital Bedroom

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