Press Release
July 9, 2010

District Court Panel Upholds Discretion of Congress Despite Massive Voter Inequality - Plaintiffs Will Appeal to Supreme Court


OXFORD, Miss., July 9, 2010/ -- (Apportionment.US) – The U.S. District Court three-judge panel for the Northern District of Mississippi ruled yesterday that Congress has discretion to set the size of the United States House of Representatives, even if significant voter inequality results.  The lawsuit, Clemons v. Department of Commerce, challenges the constitutionality of the law that permanently freezes the number of representatives in the U.S. House at 435 members.

Plaintiffs today are filing a notice of appeal to the United States Supreme Court.

“It's clear that the Court took this case very seriously, evidenced by their scholarly, well-written and lengthy 36-page opinion,” said Scott Scharpen, founder and president of Apportionment.US, the non-profit organization coordinating the lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs.  “While we obviously would have preferred a victory for the plaintiffs, the Court sided with the plaintiffs on a number of key points, which is very encouraging.”

Michael Farris, lead counsel for the plaintiffs commented, “We were thrilled to see the Court reject the government's argument that ‘one person, one vote’ does not apply to Congress when apportioning representatives.”  He adds, “Further, we largely agree with the Court's historical analysis, but they were silent on some important factors that leave us room to effectively argue before the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, the opinion did not address the rights of American voters to equal representation.”

As the plaintiffs made clear in their earlier briefs, the federal government forces states to achieve precise equality of congressional districts within a small fraction of 1%, yet at the national level, the government permits inequality to exceed 80%.  This disparity is projected to become even more inequitable as a result of the 2010 apportionment.

Fortunately for the plaintiffs, three-judge panel district court rulings allow for a direct appeal to the Supreme Court.

 

 

Court Bldg

Supreme Court Order Dismissing the Case (issued 12/13/10)

To view and/or download a copy of the Order, click Supreme Court Order Dismissing Case

Plaintiffs' Reply Brief to SG's Motion to Dismiss (filed 11/22/10)

To view and/or downlaod a copy of the brief, click Reply in Opposition to Dismiss or Affirm

Defendants' Reply to Jurisdictional Statement (filed 11/17/10)

To view and/or download a copy of the brief, click Motion to Dismiss or Affirm

U.S. Supreme Court Orders Approving Extensions (various)

To see Court orders, click here

Plaintiffs' Jurisdictional Statement (filed 8/26/10)

To view and/or download a copy of the brief, click Jurisdictional Statement

District Court Ruling (issued 7/8/10)

To view and/or download a copy of the ruling, click District Court Opinion

Plaintiffs' Reply Brief (filed 5/13/10)

To view and/or download a copy of the brief, click below:

Plaintiffs' Reply Brief in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment

Expert Witness Document
Jeffrey Ladewig - Supplemental Affidavit

Court Order Approving Oral Argument (issued 5/13/10)

To view and/or download a copy of the Order, click Order Granting Oral Argument

Defendants' Reply Brief (filed 4/23/10)

To view and/or download a copy of the Brief, click below:

Memo in Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment and Reply in Support of Defendants' Motion to Dismiss

Plaintiffs' Briefs (filed 2/19/10)

To view and/or download copies of the briefs, click below:

Plaintiffs' Reply Brief To Defendants' Motion To Dismiss

Plaintiffs' Brief For Summary Judgment

Expert Witness Documents
Kimball Brace - Affidavit and Exhibit
Jeffrey Ladewig - Affidavit and Exhibit

Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint (filed 1/7/2010)

To view and/or download a copy of the amended complaint, click below:

Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint - Clemons v. Dept. of Commerce

Defendants' Brief (filed 12/21/09)

To view and/or download a copy of the government's brief, click Defendants' Brief - Motion To Dismiss

Court Order Approving Three-Judge Panel (issued 9/18/09)

To view and/or download a copy of the order, click Order Constituting Three-Judge Court

Complaint For Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (filed 9/17/09)

On the grounds that the United States government's current practice of apportioning representatives according to
2 U.S.C. § 2a is unconstitutional, a lawsuit was filed in district court on September 17, 2009.

The plaintiffs are:

John Tyler Clemons, Jessica Wagner, Krystal Brunner, Lisa Schea and Frank Mylar

Mr. Clemons is a registered voter in the state of Mississippi; Ms. Wagner is a registered voter in the state of Montana; Ms. Brunner is a registered voter in the state of South Dakota; Ms. Schea is a registered voter in the state of Delaware; Mr. Mylar is a registered voter in the state of Utah.

To view and/or download a copy of the lawsuit, click Clemons et al. v. U.S. Department of Commerce et al.