Although supported by the E. H. Crump machine, Chandler made significant contributions to the world on his own. He was the author of Chapter 13 bankruptcy legislation. He filed the original suit in "Baker v. Carr", the U.S. Supreme Court case that argued against Tennessee's status quo of seldom changing the boundaries of congressional districts, even though population growth in urban areas far outstripped the growth in rural areas. By 1960, the district lines had not been redrawn since 1900 despite a provision in the Constitution of Tennessee requiring them to be redrawn every 10 years. In some cases one state representative district might be more populous by a factor of ten than another, more rural district. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Baker, viewing the case not as one of legislative jurisdiction, but as a case of insuring each individual's right to equal representation.