Communication 07 Supreme Court Opinion

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120 P.3d 217 Page 10 108 Hawai'i 318, 120 P.3d 217 (Cite as: 108 Hawai'i 318, 120 P.3d 217) Calderon v. Los Angeles, 4 Cal.3d 251, 93 and districts that exactly correspond to the county's Cal.Rptr. 361, 481 P.2d 489, 491 (1971).five towns “based on the long tradition of overlap- ping functions and dual personnel” in the county government and “on the fact that the plan ... [did] not A[s]tate may legitimately desire to maintain the in- contain a built-in bias tending to favor particular po- tegrity of various political subdivisions, insofar as litical interests or geographic areas”). possible, and provide for compact districts of con- tiguous territory in designating a legislative appor- tionment scheme. Valid considerations may under-In view of these considerations, ... minor devia- lie such aims. Indiscriminate districting, without tions from mathematical equality among state leg- any regard for political subdivision or natural or islative districts are insufficient to make out a historical boundary lines, may be little more than prima facie case of invidious discrimination under an open invitation to partisan gerrymandering. Sin-the Fourteenth Amendment so as to require justifi- gle-member districts may be the rule in one [s]tate, cation by the State. [Supreme Court] decisions while another [s]tate might desire to achieve some have established, as a general matter, that an ap- flexibility by creating multimember or floterial dis-portionment plan with a maximum population de- tricts.Whatever the means of accomplishment, the viation under 10% falls within this category of mi- overriding objective must be substantial equality of nor deviations. A plan with larger disparities in population among the various districts, so that the population, however, creates a prima facie case of vote of any citizen is approximately equal in weight discrimination and therefore must be justified by to that of any other citizen in the [s]tate. the [s]tate. ....Brown v. Thomson, 462 U.S. 835, 842-43, 103 S.Ct. 2690, 77 L.Ed.2d 214 (1983) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). SeeKawamoto, 75 So long as the divergences from a strict population Haw. at 474, 868 P.2d at 1189. standard are based on legitimate considerations in- cident to the effectuation of a rational state policy, some deviations from the equal-population princi-[10] At issue in Brown was a Wyoming reappor- ple are constitutionally permissible with respect to tionment plan that allocated one of sixty-four seats in the apportionment of seats in either or both of the the state's house of representatives to a county with a two houses of a bicameral state legislature. deviation of 60% below the mean. Id. at 837, 843, 103 S.Ct. 2690. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court upheld the plan on the following bases: (1) it was **225 *326 Reynolds, 377 U.S. at 578-79, 84 S.Ct. “undisputed” that Wyoming's policy of ensuring that 1362 (emphases added). SeeSwann v. Adams, 385 each county had one representative was “free from U.S. 440, 443-44, 87 S.Ct. 569, 17 L.Ed.2d 501 any taint of arbitrariness or discrimination”; (2) (1967) (reversing a decision upholding a reappor- “population equality [was] the sole other criterion tionment plan where the state failed to present, and used”; and (3) “there [was] no built-in bias tending to the district court failed to articulate, “acceptable favor particular political interests or geographic ar- reasons for the variations” of 30% among senate eas.”Id. at 843-44, 103 S.Ct. 2690. The Brown ma- districts and 40% among house districts). jority approved of the Wyoming plan as “an unusu- ally strong example of an apportionment plan the [8][9] The “general principle of population population variations of which [were] entirely the equality ... applies to state and local elections[.]” result of the consistent and nondiscriminatory appli- Abate v. Mundt, 403 U.S. 182, 185, 91 S.Ct. 1904, 29 FN8 cation of a legitimate state policy.” Id. at 844, 103 L.Ed.2d 399 (1971). The Supreme Court has inti- S.Ct. 2690. Thus, the “ultimate inquiry” is to deter- mated that “slightly greater percentage deviations mine “whether the legislature's plan may reasonably may be tolerable for local government apportionment be said to advance a rational state policy and, if so, schemes” and that “particular circumstances and whether the population disparities among the districts needs of a local community as a whole may some- that have resulted from the pursuit of this plan exceed times justify departures from strict equality.” Id. See constitutional limits.”Id. at 843, 103 S.Ct. 2690 (in- id. at 186-88, 91 S.Ct. 1904 (upholding a county re- ternal quotation marks, brackets, and citation omit- apportionment plan with a total deviation of 11.9% © 2011 Thomson Reuters. No Claim to Orig. US Gov. Works.