WMCA, Inc. v. Lomenzo

246 F. Supp. 953

Opinions

WATERMAN, Circuit Judge:

*

We have read the recent opinions of the judges of the New York Court of Appeals with great respect and with no little concern. We have great respect for the individual judges of that court as individual judges, and we share of course with the entire American judicature great respect for that court as a court.

We had thought that the order of this court of May 24, 1965, and the subsequent denial of a stay of this order by the United States Supreme Court, at last laid to rest all objections to this court’s order mandating an election in the fall of 1965 of a new State Legislature to hold office for a term of one year.

We do note the statement of the chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals, however, that, and I quote, “Despite those illegalities of ‘Plan A’ under which a 1965 election is proposed to be held, we would of course be obliged to respect and follow the Federal courts’ orders for such an election this year if those courts had made final and binding orders therefor.”

We intended the order of this court of May 24, 1965, to be exactly such an order, so directing. We believe the order did expressly state such a judgment, but to remove any question as to its purpose, intent or wording, we are entering a further order containing mandatory and injunctive provisions.

This statement and the separate concurring statements that follow are verbatim transcripts of statements made in open court when the order appended hereto was read and filed.

As previous opinions of this and other courts in the New York reapportionment litigation appear in the West Reporter System, including the several opinions of July 9, 1965 of the judges of the New York Court of Appeals, see Glinski v. Lomenzo, 16 N.Y.2d 27, 261 N.Y.S.2d 281, 209 N.E.2d 277, it seemed imperative that the order of the U. S. District Court of July 13, 1965 should also appear in the West Reporter System.