Dyer v. Kazuhisa Abe

138 F. Supp. 220, 1956 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3751
CourtDistrict Court, D. Hawaii
DecidedFebruary 10, 1956
DocketCiv. 1435
StatusPublished
Cited by41 cases

This text of 138 F. Supp. 220 (Dyer v. Kazuhisa Abe) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Hawaii primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dyer v. Kazuhisa Abe, 138 F. Supp. 220, 1956 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3751 (D. Haw. 1956).

Opinion

McLAUGHLIN, Chief Judge.

This case presents anew an age old problem of democracy, the “rotten borough.” The republican principles of our government call for the equal value of each citizen’s vote. An exception exists if a political solution as to geographic location has been written into fundamental law. Unfortunately, in an era where the concept of law over man is heralded as an achievement of our civilization, we find many legislators placing themselves above their fellow citizens in their duty to obey constitutional law. The courts have almost uniformly refused effective redress to voters, mainly relying upon theories of separation of powers and the inability or reluctance of the judiciary to interfere with the legislature. But this is merely an easy way out of a difficult problem. To say something is delicate does not make it immune from the principles of justice. Any court action is important and delicate to the parties involved, as well as to the public, which has a civic interest in the effective functioning of justice. To allow “rotten boroughs” to continue in open contravention of constitutional law, is a direct contradiction of the principles of justice. We are not asked to open the floodgates of the courts to the political problems of the legislature. We are requested to enforce the clear command of the fundamental law which the legislators have sworn to obey. 1

The plaintiff is a voter on the Island of Oahu in the Territory of Hawaii. He alleges that, contrary to the Organic Act of Hawaii, 48 U.S.C.A. § 491 et seq., the territorial legislature has not reapportioned itself to adjust to population shifts occurring in Hawaii these past fifty-five years. As a result, plaintiff claims he has been deprived of the equal protection of the laws in his rights of suffrage, of due process of law, and of a right secured him by a law of the United States.

The defendants are the members of the territorial legislature, the Governor of Hawaii, the Secretary of Hawaii, and the United States Treasury Department’s disbursing agent. They move to dismiss the action upon the grounds that this Court lacks jurisdiction over the subject matter, and that the complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. 2 We disagree, as revealed by our oral ruling of December 12, 1955.

The Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution 3 applies to the government of the Territory of Hawaii. 4 Implicit within its provisions as *225 applied to a territory is the equal protection of the laws of the Territory. 5 Class discrimination in the electoral process would be a denial of due process itself. 6

The equal protection of the law is also guaranteed by the Organic Act of Hawaii. 7 It is thus unnecessary to decide whether the Fourteenth Amendment 8 applies directly to a territory. Its protection to individual citizens does apply. 9

Section 55 of the Organic Act provides for periodic reapportionment of the territorial legislature on the basis of the population in each district. 10 The purpose of this provision was to insure equality of representation in the legislature. Under the Organic Act multimember senatorial and representative districts are provided. 11 Congress made the first apportionment within these areas. 12

Originally geographic representation was roughly fair. 13 However, as alleged by the plaintiff, the population has shifted these past years, mainly to Oahu. Without belaboring the obvious, judicial notice can be taken that both branches of the legislature are not *226 evenly apportioned. 14 This is in direct violation of the Organic Act which provides for reapportionment “from time to time” 15 to cure such a defect. There is no provision for unequal geographic representation in this Act. The lack of a specific date to rearrange the legislative delegation does not cure this violation. There has never been any effective action taken in the history of the Territory. Sufficient time has elapsed to make the original apportionment contrary in law and fact to the Organic Act. 16 “Time to time” indisputably requires affirmative action within a span of fifty-five years.

The failure of the legislature to obey the fundamental law of Hawaii has resulted in plaintiff’s being deprived of the equal protection of the laws of the Territory. Electoral legislation can violate this protective device against territorial action, or inaction, in different ways. It can inherently operate in a discriminatory manner 17 Although fair on its face, it can be used to intentionally discriminate against a class. 18

The present apportionment act is no longer fair on its face. Taken in conjunction with today’s census figures, it inherently operates to discriminate against a whole class of citizens, the voters of Oahu. 19 It is similar in effect to the electoral clause struck down in Lane v. Wilson. 20

The deliberate inaction of the legislature has caused one law to have unequal and arbitrary effects throughout Hawaii. Under the same act, a voter in one area has a decided electoral preference over a voter in another region, although all are entitled to equal treatment under the Organic Act. 21 This result by non-action has been a purposeful and systematic plan to discriminate against a geographic class of persons. It has been achieved as though a positive statute had been passed to accomplish the same purpose. Biased inaction has had the same result as biased action. It is a denial of the equal protection of the law.

The law in question before us also denies due process of law to the plaintiff. Although equal protection of *227 the law and due process are not always interchangeable, they can overlap. 22 Discriminatory legislation may amount to a deprivation of due process. 23 As stated before, the failure of the legislature to reapportion itself has had the same effect as if it had pointedly favored one regional class of persons over another regional group, in violation of the Organic Act.

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Bluebook (online)
138 F. Supp. 220, 1956 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3751, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dyer-v-kazuhisa-abe-hid-1956.