Kramer v. Union School District
Encyclopedia
Kramer v. Union School District, 395 U.S. 621
(1969) was a United States Supreme Court decision in which a childless bachelor
living with his parents in the Union School District challenged Section 2012 of the New York
Education Law which stated that voters for school district election
s must own or lease taxable realty
property in the district or be parents or custodian
s of one or more children enrolled in a public school local to the district. New York's argument was to limit the franchise to those primarily affected by education.
The other stipulations of Section 2012, which were not in dispute, were that to be a registered voter in a school district election, the person must be a U.S. citizen, be a resident of the school district, and be at least 21 years old.
Lower courts had dismissed the claim but the Supreme Court reversed the lower courts on appeal finding the additional stipulations of realty property and parent or custodian of a child in a school in the district to be an unreasonable restriction on the right to vote.
Case citation
Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...
(1969) was a United States Supreme Court decision in which a childless bachelor
Bachelor
A bachelor is a man above the age of majority who has never been married . Unlike his female counterpart, the spinster, a bachelor may have had children...
living with his parents in the Union School District challenged Section 2012 of the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
Education Law which stated that voters for school district election
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
s must own or lease taxable realty
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
property in the district or be parents or custodian
Custodian
The term Custodian may refer to:* Janitor, a person who cleans, maintains, provides security and initiates repairs or makes minor repairs to buildings.* Custodian bank, an organization responsible for safeguarding a firm's or individual's financial assets...
s of one or more children enrolled in a public school local to the district. New York's argument was to limit the franchise to those primarily affected by education.
The other stipulations of Section 2012, which were not in dispute, were that to be a registered voter in a school district election, the person must be a U.S. citizen, be a resident of the school district, and be at least 21 years old.
Lower courts had dismissed the claim but the Supreme Court reversed the lower courts on appeal finding the additional stipulations of realty property and parent or custodian of a child in a school in the district to be an unreasonable restriction on the right to vote.
Justice Stewart, Black, Harlan's Dissent
Stewart, Black, Harlan Dissenting: the test for whether a statue violates the equal protection clause is a simple one: legislation is only invalid if it rest on grounds wholly irrelevant to achievement of the regulation’s objectives. Lassiter v. Northampton County Board of Elections was deemed constitutional using that standard, states may impose rules on voting as long as it is reasonably designed to promote intelligent use of the ballot. Residency requirement are also permissible, yet the plaintiff and the court here suggest this case falls under a different standard.See also
- List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 395
- Reynolds v. SimsReynolds v. SimsReynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 was a United States Supreme Court case that ruled that state legislature districts had to be roughly equal in population.-Facts:...
, 377 U.S. 533Case citationCase citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported... - Avery v. Midland CountyAvery v. Midland CountyAvery v. Midland County, , is a United States Supreme Court case that ruled that local government districts had to be roughly equal in population.- Background :Having already held in 1965 in Reynolds v...
, 390 U.S. 474Case citationCase citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported... - Williams v. RhodesWilliams v. RhodesWilliams v. Rhodes, , was a case before the United States Supreme Court.-Facts:Separate suits were brought by the American Independent Party and the Socialist Labor Party, challenging the validity of Ohio election laws insofar as they precluded the parties' being placed on the ballots to choose...
, 393 U.S. 23Case citationCase citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...