COLEGROVE v. GREEN
Term:
- 1940-1949
Location:
Illinois General Assembly
Facts of the Case
Kenneth W. Colegrove, a citizen of Illinois and a Northwestern University political scientist, brought suit against Illinois officials to enjoin them from holding an upcoming election. Colegrove argued that the congressional districts "lacked compactness of territory and approximate equality of population."
Question
Did the Illinois congressional districts unconstitutionally violate principles of fair apportionment?
Conclusion
The Court held that the Illinois districts were constitutional, largely because existing laws imposed no requirements "as to the compactness, contiguity and equality in population of districts." In a plurality opinion, Frankfurter declined to involve the Court in the districting process, arguing that the political nature of apportionment precluded judicial intervention. "The remedy for unfairness in districting is to secure State legislatures that will apportion properly, or to invoke the ample powers of Congress."
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Cite this Page
COLEGROVE v. GREEN. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 26 April 2013. <http://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1949/1945/1945_804>.
COLEGROVE v. GREEN, The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, http://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1949/1945/1945_804 (last visited April 26, 2013).
"COLEGROVE v. GREEN," The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, accessed April 26, 2013, http://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1949/1945/1945_804.