PSCI 1040 004 Jim Battista University of North Texas Civil Rights Jim Battista Civil Rights Civil rights Voting rights Governmental segregation Private segregation Combination of court cases and statue laws to deal with them Cases mostly based on 14th Amendment nor shall any State deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws Equal protection clause Jim Battista Civil Rights Voting Several aspects Districting and apportionment Voting Rights Acts Jim Battista Civil Rights Districting and apportionment Malapportionment Drawing district lines so that districts have unequal population You want to be in a small district Common by 1960s US House State legislatures Some of which had equal rep by county Jim Battista Civil Rights Malapportionment examples State CA CT ID NV NH UT VT Smallest Largest Ratio 14000 191 951 568 3 164 36 6000000 81000 93400 127000 3244 32280 35000 429 1 424 1 98 1 224 1 1081 1 197 1 972 1 Jim Battista Civil Rights Malapportionment cases the beginning Originally cases fell afoul of political question doctrine Courts said This is not the kind of decision we make Go talk to your legislature for redress of grievances But the problem is with the legislature itself Eventually we get to Baker v Carr Jim Battista Civil Rights Baker v Carr 1962 TN had not drawn new district lines since 1900 TN Constitution required it to it just didn t anyway By 1960 gross malapportionment Baker in Shelby County Memphis District has 10 times population of rural districts Jim Battista Civil Rights Baker v Carr 1962 Baker Court help me I have a problem my vote is diluted And I can t go to the legislature The legislature is the problem The legislature is who s corrupt here Court decides districting is justicible Prescient warning that Court will have to do more of this Decision doesn t itself undo malapportionment Jim Battista Civil Rights Reynolds v Sims 1964 Based on Baker Sims sues AL Representation is unequal In state House bad districting 15 1 In state Senate bad principle 63 1 Court delivers classic smackdown Legislators represent people not trees or acres Legislators are elected by voters not farms or cities or economic interests One person one vote now Jim Battista Civil Rights Reynolds v Sims 1964 Decision applies to both chambers of state legislatures Why can t states do like the federal Senate Not the same thing Counties aren t states States have independent right to exist counties don t States can abolish merge counties Congress can t with states US is union of states states are not unions of counties Jim Battista Civil Rights Wesberry v Sanders 1964 Based on Baker Wesberry sues GA 5th US House district is 2 3 times bigger than smaller ones Wesberry this dilutes my vote This is unequal protection I am the victim of illegal discrimination in favor of rural voters Court agrees At time US House districts must be about same size Now routinely just about equal 1 common Jim Battista Civil Rights Voting and discrimination States tried to prevent non Anglos from voting Part of Jim Crow Tactics White primary Literacy test Poll tax Grandfather clause Attacked through court cases amendments law Jim Battista Civil Rights Voting discrimination in the courts Guinn v US 1915 OK s grandfather clause void Smith v Allwright 1944 TX white primary void King v Chapman 1946 GA white primary void Gomillion v Lightfoot 1960 AL can t redraw city limits to exclude black population Jim Battista Civil Rights Voting and constitutional amendments Several amendments deal with voting rights 15 19 23 24 26 Race color previous condition of servitude Sex DC Tax payment Age over 18 Jim Battista Civil Rights Voting Rights Act Initially passed 1965 Extended 1970 75 82 Enforces 14th Amendment equal protection Plain old law Jim Battista Civil Rights Voting Rights Act Bans some electoral practices Literacy tests Anything with discriminatory intent effect Prohibited everywhere Jim Battista Civil Rights Voting Rights Act Requires preclearance in parts of US Places with history of discrimination or low registration Extended modified 1970 75 82 Most ex Confederacy AZ AK Parts of CA SD MI NY NH Expires 2007 Jim Battista Civil Rights Voting Rights Act preclearance Changes in electoral law practice frozen US DoJ or DC Dist Ct must approve changes before take effect State locality must prove no discriminatory intent or effect Burden of proof is on state Jim Battista Civil Rights Voting Rights Act Other provisions Federal examiners Can conduct registration Federal observers Jim Battista Civil Rights VRA maj min DoJ began to insist on seeing some majority minority districts We think if you were districting in a race blind way you would have 2 majority minority districts So make them Main proponents Black Latino interest groups Republicans Why Republicans Maj min districts have effect of packing Democrats increase Republicans elected Ruled unconstitutional sort of 1995 Shaw v Reno Jim Battista Civil Rights Governmental segregation Segregation legally required by the state Law says thou shalt not integrate Firm beginnings Plessy v Ferguson 1896 Jim Battista Civil Rights Plessy v Ferguson LA law requires segregation on trains Plessy violated law Pre arranged test case betw railroad citizen group Segregation cost RR money SC Law is fine Can require separation so long as facilities equal Jim Battista Civil Rights Plessy Set in place separate but equal Harlan s dissent But in view of the constitution in the eye of the law there is in this country no superior dominant ruling class of citizens There is no caste here Our constitution is color blind and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens In respect of civil rights all citizens are equal before the law The humblest is the peer of the most powerful The law regards man as man and takes no account of his surroundings or of his color when his civil rights as guaranteed by the supreme law of the land are involved Jim Battista Civil Rights Separate but equal era States began to pass laws requiring segregation Of public facilities Of public and private facilities The unpleasant bit Jim Crow not about water fountains Threats life and death Jim Battista Civil Rights Separate but equal era Generally created separate but equal institutions for black citizens Usually actually grossly inferior at least in resources Not always though esp outside deep South Sometimes no relevant whatever For Negroes Law schools med schools etc State would often pay to send