Legal analysis from Dean's Law Dictionary will be displayed here.

This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

Pennsylvania's General Assembly took up the task of drawing a new districting map. The Republican Party controlled a majority of both state Houses and held the Governor's office. The General Assembly passed its plan. P, registered Democrats who vote in Pennsylvania, brought suit in the District Court. Ds were the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and various executive and legislative officers responsible for enacting or implementing Act. P alleged violation of the one-person, one-vote requirement of Article I, §2, of the United States Constitution, and that the Act constituted a political gerrymander, in violation of Article I and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. A three-judge panel was convened. Ds moved to dismiss. The District Court granted the motion with respect to the political gerrymandering claim, and (on Eleventh Amendment grounds) all claims against the Commonwealth, but it declined to dismiss the apportionment claim as to other Ds. At trial, the District Court ruled in favor of P. A remedial plan was enacted to cure the apportionment problem. P then moved to impose remedial districts. That motion was denied as the new districts were not malapportioned. The court again rejected the political gerrymandering claim. P appealed, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.

The legal issues presented in this case will be displayed here.

The court's holding and decision will be displayed here.