SCRANTON, GOVERNOR OF PENNSYLVANIA, et al. v. DREW et al.
No. 201.
Decided November 16, 1964.
Walter E. Alessandroni, Attorney General of Pennsylvania, and Edward Friedman and Alan Miles Ruben, Deputy Attorneys General, for appellants. Marvin Comisky, Thomas D. McBride, Goncer M. Krestal and Marshall J. Seidman for appellees.
Per Curiam.
The judgment of the District Court appealed from was entered on April 9, 1964, 229 F. Supp. 310 (D. C. M. D. Pa.). The District Court held invalid under the Four- ' teenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the Pennsylvania Representative Apportionment Act of January 9, 1964, P. L. 1419, 25 Purdon’s Pa. Stat. Ann. §§ 2221-2222 (1963 Supp., including Acts of the 1963 Extra Session), the Pennsylvania Senatorial Apportionment Act of January 9, 1964, P. L. 1432, 25 Purdon’s Pa. Stat. Ann. §§2217-2220 (1963 Supp., including Acts of the 1963 Extra Session), and the Pennsylvania Constitution’s legislative apportionment provisions, Art. II, §§16, 17. The court restrained appellants from conducting any future elections under the apportionment acts, but stayed its order pending the disposition of an appeal to this Court. Thereafter on June 15, 1964, this Court decided Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U. S. 533, and companion cases: WMCA, Inc. v. Lomenzo, 377 U. S. 633; Maryland Comm. for Fair Representation v. Tawes, 377 U. S. 656; Davis v. Mann, 377 U. S. 678; Roman v. Sincock, 377 U. S. 695; Lucas v. Forty-Fourth General Assembly of Colorado, 377 U. S. 713. On September 29, 1964, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania handed down a decision construing the legislative apportionment provisions of the Pennsylvania Constitution, and holding these provisions constitutional as construed. The court, however, declared invalid, under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States. Constitution, the Pennsylvania legislative apportionment laws at issue in this appeal. Butcher v. Bloom, 415 Pa. 438, 203 A. 2d 556. The Pennsylvania court retained jurisdiction of the case, stating:
“We have indicated that it is our expectation that the Legislature will proceed in timely fashion to enact reapportionment laws which conform to constitutional requirements. We must recognize, however, that if the General Assembly fails to act in a timely fashion, we shall be obliged to take necessary affirmative action to insure that the 1966 election of Pennsylvania legislators will be conducted pursuant to a constitutionally valid plan. Proper regard for our responsibility compels us to retain jurisdiction of this matter pending legislative action.
“Should the Legislature fail to enact a constitutionally valid plan of reapportionment as soon as practical, but not later than September 1, 1-965, we shall take such action as may be appropriate in light of the then existing situation.
“Jurisdiction retained in accordance with this opinion.” Id., at 468-469, 203 A. 2d, at 573.
The judgment of the District Court is therefore vacated and the cause is remanded for further consideration in light of the decisions supervening since the entry of the judgment of the District Court.
Vacated and remanded.
What follows is an opinion from the Supreme Court of the United States. Your task is to determine the issue area of the Court's decision. Determine the issue area on the basis of the Court's own statements as to what the case is about. Focus on the subject matter of the controversy rather than its legal basis. In specifying the issue in a legacy case, choose the one that best accords with what today's Court would consider it to be. Choose among the following issue areas: "Criminal Procedure" encompasses the rights of persons accused of crime, except for the due process rights of prisoners. "Civil rights" includes non-First Amendment freedom cases which pertain to classifications based on race (including American Indians), age, indigency, voting, residency, military or handicapped status, gender, and alienage. "First Amendment encompasses the scope of this constitutional provision, but do note that it need not involve the interpretation and application of a provision of the First Amendment. For example, if the case only construe a precedent, or the reviewability of a claim based on the First Amendment, or the scope of an administrative rule or regulation that impacts the exercise of First Amendment freedoms. "Due process" is limited to non-criminal guarantees. "Privacy" concerns libel, comity, abortion, contraceptives, right to die, and Freedom of Information Act and related federal or state statutes or regulations. "Attorneys" includes attorneys' compensation and licenses, along with trhose of governmental officials and employees. "Unions" encompass those issues involving labor union activity. "Economic activity" is largely commercial and business related; it includes tort actions and employee actions vis-a-vis employers. "Judicial power" concerns the exercise of the judiciary's own power. "Federalism" pertains to conflicts and other relationships between the federal government and the states, except for those between the federal and state courts. "Federal taxation" concerns the Internal Revenue Code and related statutes. "Private law" relates to disputes between private persons involving real and personal property, contracts, evidence, civil procedure, torts, wills and trusts, and commercial transactions. Prior to the passage of the Judges' Bill of 1925 much of the Court's cases concerned such issues. Use "Miscellaneous" for legislative veto and executive authority vis-a-vis congress or the states.
Criminal Procedure Civil Rights First Amendment Due Process Privacy Attorneys Unions Economic Activity Judicial Power Federalism Interstate Relations Federal Taxation Miscellaneous Private Action