Hadley v. Junior College District - The Lower Court Rulings

A Missouri trial court dismissed the suit. This ruling was then upheld by the Missouri Supreme Court, which held the "one man, one vote" principle did not apply in this case because the trustees had specialized authority over district affairs, rather than general powers of government over the entire district. The state supreme court held that in state or local elections, the Equal Protection Clause requires only that each qualified voter have an equal opportunity to participate in the election, and that election districts must be established on a basis that "as far as practicable will insure that equal numbers of voters can vote for proportionally equal numbers of officials." The case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.