Brown v. Thomson

Appellant

Margaret R. Brown, et al.

Appellee

Thyra Thomson, Wyoming Secretary of State

Appellant's Claim

Wyoming's reapportionment plan to allocate one seat to Niobrara County in its House of Representatives was unconstitutional and substantially weakened the voting power of the plaintiff because it gave a small number of people "super" voting strength and totally disregarded a fundamental rule: one person, one vote.

Chief Lawyer for Appellant

Suellen L. Davidson

Chief Lawyer for Appellee

Randall T. Cox

Justices for the Court

Warren E. Burger, Sandra Day O'Connor, Lewis F. Powell, Jr. (writing for the Court), William H. Rehnquist, John Paul Stevens

Justices Dissenting

Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Byron R. White

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

22 June 1983

Decision

The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's decision that the Wyoming reapportionment plan for its House of Representatives, which allocated one seat to underpopulated counties, did not violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Related Cases

• Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 (1964).
• Abate v. Mundt, 403 U.S. 182 (1971).
• White v. Register, 412 U.S. 755 (1973).
• Connor v. Finch, 431 U.S. 407 (1977).
• 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.