Cummings v. Meskill

341 F. Supp. 139
District Court, D. Connecticut·Decided June 12, 1972·No. Civ. A. 14736·Published·Cited by 16 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION

J. JOSEPH SMITH, Circuit Judge:

This action challenges the Reapportionment Plan for the Connecticut General Assembly devised by a Board of three members, the last available link in a chain of methods mandated by the Connecticut Constitution for the production of a plan of reapportionment for the 1972 elections. The plaintiffs are U. S. citizens, residents of towns in Connecticut, taxpayers, and registered voters. They claim that the Plan violates the Fourteenth Amendment because the deviations from mathematical equality among the districts are impermissibly large, particularly since they have not been justified on the basis of the pursuit of legitimate state policies. They also claim that residents of certain tracts have been entirely omitted from the Plan and that one assembly district is not contiguous. Intervenors Aronie et al. claim that the methods for appointment of personnel for drawing the Plan as well as the Plan ultimately produced deny unaffiliated voters a voice and are therefore unconstitutional. The defendants are officials of the State of Connecticut responsible for enforcing its laws, particularly the Secretary of the State, who is responsible for the conduct of elections. J. Brian Gaffney, intervening as an individual elector of New Britain, argues that the Plan is constitutional, that in any case this court should abstain pending state court action, and that inadvertent errors of omission and lack of contiguity may be corrected, preferably in a state court action now pending.

The action arises under the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, the Supremacy Clause, Article VI, Clause 2 of the Constitution, and 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988. Jurisdiction is conferred by 28 U.S.C. §§ 1343(3) and 1343(4). Plaintiffs seek a temporary and permanent injunction restraining the officers of the state from holding elections in accordance with the present Plan and for further delineation of the rights of the parties.

A three-judge district court was convened to hear and determine the case pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 2281, 2284.

*141 The Connecticut Constitution, adopted following ■ the successful attack on the former system of apportionment in Butterworth v. Dempsey, 229 F.Supp. 754 (D.Conn.), aff’d Franklin v. Butterworth, 378 U.S. 564, 84 S.Ct. 1918, 12 L.Ed.2d 1037 (1964), and 237 F.Supp. 302 (D.Conn.1965), requires that the Senate consist of 30 to 50 members and that each senatorial district be contiguous as to territory. The House must consist of from 125 to 225 members; each district is to be contiguous as to territory and no town can be divided except for the purpose of forming assembly districts wholly within the town. Article Third, §§ 3, 4. 1 The Constitution also requires that the establishment of districts comply with federal constitutional standards. Article Third, § 5. 2

The Connecticut Constitution of 1965 provides further for decennial reapportionment by the General Assembly by two-thirds vote of each house at the first regular session next after the completion of the United States census provided that if the Assembly fails to act by the first of April, a Commission of eight members designated as provided in the Constitution should submit a plan to the Secretary of the State by the first of July and failing timely action by the Commission, a Board of three persons consisting of two Superior Court judges chosen respectively by the Speaker of the House and the Minority Leader of the House and a third member, an elector, selected by the two members so designated is required to submit a plan of districting to the Secretary of the State by October first. When the Assembly and the Commission failed timely to submit a plan, pursuant to this provision Superior Court Judges George A. Saden and Leo Parskey were chosen and in turn selected Justice John R. Thim as the third member of the Board. A plan was approved and adopted by two members of the Board, Judge Saden and Justice Thim, and submitted on September 30, 1971 to the Secretary of the State. The third member of the Board, Judge Parskey, did not approve of the Plan and submitted a minority report. The Plan reapportions the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut.

The population of the State of Connecticut, according to the 1970 census, is 3,032,217.

The Plan provides for a House of Representatives consisting of 151 members, each elected from a single assembly district. With a population of 3,032,217 and 151 assembly districts, the perfect number of people in each assembly district should be 20,081.

The Plan provides for a Senate consisting of 36 senators, each elected from a single senatorial district. With a population of 3,032,217 and 36 senatorial districts, the perfect number of people in each senatorial district should be 84,228.

The population of assembly districts created by the Plan deviates from the perfect average of 20,081 by a maximum *142 of plus 3.93% or 789 people, and by a minimum of 3.90% or 784 people for a total deviation of 7.83%.

In 39 assembly districts under the Plan or 25.83% of the 151 assembly districts, the population deviates from the perfect average of 20,081- by plus or minus 3.0% to 3.93%. The population of 34 assembly districts, 22.52% of the total, deviates by plus or minus 2.0'% to 2.99%; the population of 47 assembly districts, 31.12'% of the total, deviates from 1.0% to 1.99%; and the population of the remaining 31 assembly districts of the total of 151 assembly districts, 20.53% of the total, deviates from 0.0% to 0.99%.

The average deviation from perfect equality for all the assembly districts under the Plan is 399 people or 1.9% and a mean deviation from perfect equality for all the assembly districts is 373 people or 1.8%.

The ratio of the largest assembly district to the smallest assembly district under the Plan is 1.082 to 1.

The population of senatorial districts created by the Plan deviates from the perfect average of 84,228 by a maximum of plus 0.88'% or 745 people and by a minimum of minus 0.93% or 787 people for a total deviation of 1.81%. The average deviation from perfect equality for all the senatorial districts is 379 people or .45:% and a mean deviation from perfect equality for all the senatorial districts is 392 people or .47%.

The ratio of the largest senatorial district to the smallest senatorial district under the Plan is 1.018 to 1.

The smallest number of people needed to elect a majority in the House of Representatives (sometimes known as the electoral percentage) is 49.33%.

The smallest number of people needed to elect a majority in the Senate (the electoral percentage) is 52.54%.

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Cummings v. Meskill, 341 F. Supp. 139 (D. Conn. 1972).

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