Define malapportionment. Identify the U.S. Supreme Court's rulings regarding its constitutionality
What will be an ideal response?
An ideal response would be:
As a result of huge differences in population among the districts, state legislative districts used to face problems of malapportionment. State legislatures for decades had given rural and small-town voters more votes in the legislature than they were entitled to based on population alone. In Georgia, for instance, the 1960 reapportionment gave the largest county, with 556,326 inhabitants, no more representation than the three smallest counties, whose combined population was 6,980 . City officials complained bitterly that small-town and farmland-dominated legislators were unsympathetic to their problems and had different legislative priorities.
Malapportionment refers to having legislative districts with unequal populations. The U.S. Supreme Court stepped in. In 1962, in Baker v. Carr, the Court held that voters have standing to challenge legislative apportionment and that the federal courts should consider such questions. Arbitrary and capriciously drawn districts deprive people of their constitutional rights of representation, and federal judges may take jurisdiction over such cases.
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How might the Supreme Court decisions in Korematsu v. United States (1944), i
involving the Japanese internment, and in Boumediene v. Bush (2008), involving the detention of citizens and foreign nationals who were declared to be "enemy combatants," be viewed in retrospect? a. Both decisions might be viewed as upholding important constitutional principles. b. The first might be viewed as a step toward protecting civil rights of citizens, and the second as a step backward in the struggle for civil rights protection. c. Both decisions might be viewed as hindering the civil rights of citizens. d. The first might be viewed as a missed opportunity for the Supreme Court to protect civil rights, and the second as a step toward protecting civil rights.
Congress exercises jurisdiction over the impeachment of _____.
A. an opinion leader B. a governor C. the president D. the members of interest groups E. party supporters
The Continental Congress adopted the __________ in 1777
Fill in the blanks with correct word
When William the Conqueror began the process of unifying the king's courts, the courts began the practice of compiling important decisions in volumes known as
A) amicus briefs. B) precedents. C) encyclopedias. D) almanacs. E) year books.