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Legislature v. Reinecke - 10 Cal.3d 396 - Wed, 11/28/1973 | California Supreme Court Resources
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Citation 10 Cal.3d 396
Legislature v. Reinecke , 10 Cal.3d 396
[Sac. No. 7917.
November 28, 1973.]
[Sac. No. 7919.
[Sac. No. 7923.
Robert S. Daggett, Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, Richards, Watson & Dreyfuss, Glenn R. Watson, Robert N. Joehnck, Halley & Cornell, James W. Halley, David J. Levy, City Attorney (Pinole and Concord), James P. O'Drain, City Attorney (Richmond), Samuel V. McGrath, Deputy City Attorney, LaFollette, Johnson, Horgan & Robinson, James Dexter Clark, Chinello, Chinello & Maddy, Kenneth L. Maddy, Frank J. Pagliaro, Jr., Seth M. Hufstedler, John L. Burton, Putnam Livermore, Tinning & Delap, Austin R. Gibbons, David E. Schricker, City Attorney (Redwood City), John J. Gottes, City Attorney (South Gate), John Philip Coghlan, John D. Maharg, County Counsel (Los Angeles), Edward H. Gaylord, Assistant County Counsel, Ray T. Sullivan, Jr., County Counsel (Riverside), Richard W. Dickenson, County Counsel (San Joaquin), Monroe N. [10 Cal.3d 399] Langdon, City Attorney (Stockton), Paul F. Mordy, Assistant City Attorney, Theodore R. Bresler, Deputy City Attorney, Keith C. Sorenson, District Attorney (San Mateo), James M. Parmelee, Deputy City Attorney, James M. Himmel, Cruz Reynoso, Peter Schilla, Peter H. Weiner, Lucy K. McCabe, Stanley Levy, Bruce Warner, Michael D. Saphier, Mario Obledo, Herman Sillas, Joe Ortega, Roberto Rabago, Armand Derfner, Royal M. Sorensen, City Attorney (Downey), Burke, Williams & Sorensen, Loren Miller, Jr., Dion G. Morrow, William T. Bagley, Arthur V. Azevedo, Gant & Asaro, Steven R. Jones, John J. Miller, Nathaniel S. Colley, Paul N. McCloskey, Jr., Gerald J. Lewis, City Attorney (Coronado), Robert W. Naylor, Erwin, Anderholt & Scherotter, J. John Anderholt, Albert E. Polonsky, Dawley, George & Holt, John George, Michael J. Halliwell, James P. Botz, County Counsel (Sonoma), Paul T. Bannai, Joseph W. Rainville, City Attorney (Glendale), Peter C. Wright, Deputy City Attorney, Reid, Babbage & Coil, John D. Babbage, James H. Harmon, County Counsel (Imperial), Byrd, Sturdevant, Nassif, McDaniel & Pinney, William Byrd, Charles F. Sturdevant, Jr., George N. Zenovich, John W. Holmdahl, Milton Marks, Lawrence E. Walsh, George W. Wakefield, Bernhard O'Connor, Frank Lanterman, John L. E. Collier, Mike D. Antonovich, Victor Veysey, Daniel V. Blackstock, Richard Wittenberg, Ignazio A. Vella, Henry J. Riboni, Gregory Jones, Jr., John A. Van Ryn, Stephen Reinhardt and Rudolph Dias on behalf of other interested parties.
In these mandate proceedings we are called upon to resolve the impasse created by the continuing failure of the Legislature to pass legislative and congressional reapportionment bills acceptable to the Governor. fn. 1 [10 Cal.3d 400]
Our first opinion herein was filed on January 18, 1972, when we adopted temporary apportionment plans for the 1972 elections. We concluded that the congressional districts set forth in Assembly Bill No. 16, 1971 First Extraordinary Session, and the existing statutes apportioning the Legislature should be in effect for the 1972 elections. We retained jurisdiction to draft new reapportionment plans for the elections of 1974 through 1980 in the event the Legislature did not enact valid legislative and congressional reapportionment statutes by the close of its 1972 regular session. (Legislature v. Reinecke (1972) 6 Cal.3d 595, 603-604 [99 Cal.Rptr. 481, 492 P.2d 385].)
On May 10, 1972, at the request of the Senate of the State of California, we postponed the time for further court action, stating that "we will not exercise our retained jurisdiction herein if the Legislature, in 1972, enacts valid legislative and congressional reapportionment statutes either during its current regular session or at a special session called for that purpose." (Legislature v. Reinecke (1972) 7 Cal.3d 92, 93 [101 Cal.Rptr. 552, 496 P.2d 464].)
The Legislature did not enact reapportionment statutes in 1972 and we were therefore again faced with the necessity of judicial action. On March 23, 1973, we announced our intention to appoint three Special Masters to hold public hearings to permit the presentation of evidence and argument with respect to the possible criteria of reapportionment and of proposed plans to carry out such criteria, to recommend to the court reapportionment plans for possible adoption, and to set forth the criteria underlying the recommended plans and the reasons for the recommendations. We made clear, however, that the Legislature was not foreclosed from enacting reapportionment statutes if it could succeed in doing so. We stated that "If at any time during the proceedings contemplated by this order valid congressional and legislative reapportionment measures are enacted the court will entertain an application to dismiss these proceedings." (Legislature v. Reinecke (1973) 9 Cal.3d 166, 168 [107 Cal.Rptr. 18, 507 P.2d 626].) [10 Cal.3d 401]
After the Report was presented to the court, various parties and amici curiae filed briefs, and numerous cities, counties, groups, organizations, and individuals sent communications to the court objecting to or supporting the Masters' plans in whole or in part. Although some objection has been voiced to the Masters' conclusion that they should formulate their own reapportionment plans for recommendation to the court, we are fully persuaded by their Report (pp. 414-418, infra) that they correctly so concluded. [10 Cal.3d 402] In so stating we wish to make clear that we in no way question the motives of the Legislature or any of its members in passing Senate Bill 195. We record only our agreement with the Masters that there are short-comings in the reapportionment plans contained in that bill that preclude our adoption of them as court plans. We therefore now turn to a review of the Masters' plans.
Some of the objectors contend that the Masters should have accepted rather than rejected the maintenance of existing relationships between incumbents and their constituencies as an additional criterion. We agree that there are values in maintaining such relationships and also in making it possible for competent incumbents to seek reelection without being placed in unduly disadvantageous positions. We agree with the Masters, however, that these values should not be pursued by designing district boundaries to promote the reelection of incumbents. Except in those relatively rare cases where population shifts are so extensive that it would be [10 Cal.3d 403] difficult or impossible for particular incumbents to be reelected even under a proincumbent districting plan, incumbent-neutral districting will not preclude each incumbent from seeking reelection in a new district that will contain a substantial part of his former constituency. Moreover, each incumbent will retain the advantage of running as a sitting congressman or state legislator, as the case may be. To go further and to give incumbents the additional advantage of districting designed to preserve the status quo would be unfair both to nonincumbent candidates and to the electors of the new districts who wished to support such candidates.
The Masters and their staff and consultants spent four months in the intensive study and consideration of the arguments and evidence presented to them and in drawing and redrawing district lines in an endeavor to prepare reapportionment plans that adhered to the greatest extent possible to all of the recommended criteria. Although they did not have the benefit of the specific objections that have now been made to their plans, they were fully aware of similar or even greater objections made to the Legislature's plans that were vetoed by the Governor. They also had before them and carefully considered many proposals dealing with specific limited areas of the state, some of which have also been urged upon us. As they pointed out, however, "innumerable districts ideal for particular communities can be constructed if each is considered in isolation but when the entire state is divided into a specified number of districts, that which may appear ideal for one place or another must be subordinated to the goal of fair and reasonable reapportionment of the whole state. That is the goal [10 Cal.3d 404] sought and upon which the recommendations to the Court are based." (Report, p. 417, infra.) In seeking that goal the Masters developed an expertise in the art of reapportionment that is attested to not only by the over-all reasonableness and excellence of the plans they drafted but by the approval of those plans by legislators and congressmen affected thereby, many amici curiae, and others who have expressed themselves.
We turn to the consideration of whether elections for senator must be held in all 40 senate districts in 1974 or only in the 20 new even-numbered districts. Section 2, subdivision (a), of article IV of the California Constitution provides that "The Senate has a membership of 40 Senators elected for 4-year terms, 20 to begin every 2 years." (See also Elec. Code, § 30121, providing for even-numbered district elections in 1974, 1978, etc. and for odd-numbered district elections in 1972, 1976, etc.) If this constitutional provision is applicable following reapportionment those senators elected from odd-numbered districts in 1972 are entitled to serve four-year terms or until after the 1976 general election, and if vacancies occur in their offices they will be filled by elections in the districts in effect in 1972. (See Sloan v. Donoghue (1942) 20 Cal.2d 607, 609 [127 P.2d 922]; New Democratic Coalition v. Austin (1972) 41 Mich.App. 343 [200 N.W.2d 749, 755].) This provision is applicable following reapportionment unless it denies equal protection of the laws. (People v. Pendegast (1892) 96 Cal. 289, 294 [31 P. 103]; see also People v. Markham (1892) 96 Cal. 262 [31 P. 102].)
It is contended that to give continuing effect to the old odd-numbered districts for the purpose of allowing the incumbents therein to serve their full terms and for the purpose of filling any vacancies in such districts denies equal protection of the laws by invidiously discriminating among [10 Cal.3d 405] three groups of electors. Those electors who by redistricting are moved from an odd-numbered district to an even-numbered district were able to vote in a senatorial election in 1972 and will be able to vote again in a senatorial election in 1974, i.e., at a two-year interval. Those electors who after redistricting remain in an odd-numbered district or an even-numbered district, as the case may be, will have the opportunity to vote in a senatorial election at a four-year interval. Those electors who by redistricting are moved from an even-numbered district to an odd-numbered district will not have an opportunity to vote in a senatorial election until 1976, six years after they last could vote in a senatorial election in 1970.
[1] It is now settled that as it applies to state electoral districting "the proper equal protection test is not framed in terms of 'governmental necessity,' but instead in terms of a claim that a State may 'rationally consider.' Reynolds v. Sims, supra, at 580-581." (Mahan v. Howell (1973) 410 U.S. 315, 326 [35 L.Ed.2d 320, 331, 93 S.Ct. 979, 986].) Although the Mahan case dealt with permissible deviations from strict population equality among districts, its rationale appears equally applicable to deviations from strict equality resulting from reapportionment coupled with staggered terms. The state may rationally consider stability and continuity in the Senate as a desirable goal which is reasonably promoted by providing for four-year staggered terms. The resulting inequality among electors is limited to the two-year period following reapportionment and results in even less temporary disenfranchisement than the up to four-year disenfranchisement that may be imposed on residents who move into a senate district or who become of voting age shortly after an election has taken place. To obviate the [10 Cal.3d 406] inequality would substantially interfere with the orderly operation of the four-year staggered terms system after every reapportionment. fn. 3 We conclude that adherence to staggered terms following reapportionment involved no invidious discriminations. (Pate v. El Paso County, Texas (W.D.Tex. 1970) 337 F.Supp. 95, 98-99, affd., 400 U.S. 806 [27 L.Ed.2d 38, 91 S.Ct. 55]; Ferrell v. State of Oklahoma ex rel. Hall (W.D.Okla. 1972) 339 F.Supp. 73, 82, affd., 406 U.S. 939 [32 L.Ed.2d 328, 92 S.Ct. 2045]; Griswold v. County of San Diego (1973) 32 Cal.App.3d 56, 62-64 [107 Cal.Rptr. 845], hg. den.) fn. 4
[2] We turn to the durational residence requirement of subdivision (c) of section 2 of article IV of the California Constitution. It provides: "A person is ineligible to be a member of the Legislature unless he is an elector and has been a resident of his district for one year, and a citizen of the United States and a resident of California for 3 years, immediately preceding his election." The Masters recognized the problem that might be created by this provision if, as it has now turned out, the new district lines did not exist in time for incumbent candidates and other candidates to select a residence so as to become a resident of a district for a year preceding the election. They recommended that the court "give consideration to an interpretation that the cited section is inapplicable" in such case. (Report, p. 446, infra.) Their recommendation is sound. The constitutional provision contemplates that districts will be established for at least a year before the election, and since they were not so established, the provision by its own terms cannot apply. In the exercise of our equitable powers to fashion remedial techniques in this area of the law (see Reynolds [10 Cal.3d 407] v. Sims (1964) 377 U.S. 533, 585 [12 L.Ed.2d 506, 541, 84 S.Ct. 1362]; Silver v. Brown (1965) 63 Cal.2d 270, 278 [46 Cal.Rptr. 308, 405 P.2d 132]), we hold that a person is eligible to be a member of the Legislature if he becomes a resident of the district involved by January 28, 1974, the first day for filing the declaration of intention to become a candidate pursuant to Election Code section 25500, and otherwise complies with election law requirements.
"Following such hearings the Masters shall recommend to the court for possible adoption reapportionment plans which shall provide for 43 single member congressional districts, 40 single member Senate districts, and 80 single member Assembly districts. The Masters shall set forth the criteria underlying the plans they recommend for adoption and the reasons for their recommendations." (Legislature v. Reinecke (1973) 9 Cal.3d 166, 167 [107 Cal.Rptr. 18, 507 P.2d 626].)
Rules to govern the conduct of the public hearings and the submission of oral and written presentations were adopted. Hearings were scheduled in Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco, and written notice of the hearings was given to the parties to the actions and to others. A press release giving the times, places and purposes of the hearings was distributed statewide to the wire services, the major newspapers, and radio and television stations. fn. 2 [10 Cal.3d 409]
The most frequently voiced objection to all plans recommended by the Legislature, including the reapportionment plan for the Senate that the Governor found tolerable, was that those plans were designed primarily to favor incumbents and to obtain partisan advantage for one or the other of the major political parties. It was evident that there was widespread public cynicism about the political process, and it was frequently stated that the Masters were in a singularly advantageous position unavailable to legislators, who cannot escape the inevitable force of self-interest. Many who appeared expressed the belief that any plans promulgated by the Court or by the Masters would be less incumbent-oriented or politically motivated than the plans recommended by the Legislature or others with special interests in reapportionment. [10 Cal.3d 410]
After the hearings began, the Legislature passed and the Governor vetoed Senate Bill 195, which contained congressional and legislative reapportionment plans. Both houses of the Legislature and 41 members of the congressional delegation urged that the plans set forth in Senate Bill 195 should be recommended to the Court because those plans represent reapportionments most nearly approximating appropriate political solutions. The Senate in particular urged that its plan contained in the bill should be recommended on the ground that the Governor had indicated that he would have approved that plan had it been presented to him in a separate bill. Certain minority assemblymen urged that as much of the assembly plan as did not meet with the Governor's disapproval be recommended, and they offered modifications of the rest of that plan designed to meet the Governor's objections. Similarly, 41 members of Congress offered modifications of the congressional plan contained in Senate Bill 195 to meet the Governor's objections. Underlying all of these proposals was the basic premise that "reapportionment is primarily a matter for the legislative branch of the government to resolve" (Legislature v. Reinecke (1972) 6 Cal.3d 595, 598 [99 Cal.Rptr. 481, 492 P.2d 385]) and the recently reiterated position of the United States Supreme Court that political solutions to reapportionment problems are not only entirely proper but indeed inevitable. (Gaffney v. Cummings (1973) 412 U.S. 735, 752 [37 L.Ed. 2d 298, 311, 93 S.Ct. 2321, 2331]; White v. Weiser (1973) 412 U.S. 783, 794-796 [37 L.Ed.2d 335, 345-346, 93 S.Ct. 2348, 2354-2355].)
Having considered the oral and written presentations, pertinent provisions of the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution and Statutes [10 Cal.3d 411] of California, the case law expressed in judicial decisions, and authoritative sources in the field of political science, the following are recommended as the criteria to be used in formulating plans for reapportionment of legislative districts in California:
1. As required by the federal Constitution, the districts in each plan should be numerically equal in population as nearly as practicable, with strict equality in the case of congressional districts (White v. Weiser (1973) 412 U.S. 783, 790 [37 L.Ed.2d 335, 343, 93 S.Ct. 2348, 2352]), and reasonable equality in the case of state legislative districts (White v. Regester (1973) 412 U.S. 755, 763 [37 L.Ed.2d 314, 323, 93 S.Ct. 2332, 2338]; Gaffney v. Cummings (1973) 412 U.S. 735, 740-751 [37 L.Ed.2d 298, 304-311, 93 S.Ct. 2321, 2325-2330]; Mahan v. Howell (1973) 410 U.S. 315 [35 L.Ed.2d 320, 93 S.Ct. 979]). The population of senate and assembly districts should be within 1 percent of the ideal except in unusual circumstances, and in no event should a deviation greater than 2 percent be permitted.
2. The territory included within a district should be contiguous and compact, taking into account the availability and facility of transportation and communication between the people in a proposed district, between the people and candidates in the district, and between the people and their elected representatives. [10 Cal.3d 412]
3. Counties and cities within a proposed district should be maintained intact, insofar as practicable. (See Cal. Const., art. IV, § 6; Silver v. Brown (1965) 63 Cal.2d 270, 279 [46 Cal.Rptr. 308, 405 P.2d 132].)
Cogent reasons exist for the formation of senate districts from assembly districts. If assembly districts are formed logically and in compliance with the criteria recommended herein, then senate districts created by combining such districts are also likely to comply. This is particularly so if such an [10 Cal.3d 413] eventual pairing is kept in mind when forming the various legislative districts. The resulting legislative districts will be more comprehensible to the electorate and the task of administering elections would be considerably simplified, thus saving money and insuring greater accuracy.
The use of whole census tracts makes it difficult to comply literally with another recommended criterion, that of maintaining the integrity of city boundaries. Some cities have exceedingly irregular boundaries with an odd assortment of "fingers" and "peninsulas" jutting out from the basic part of the city. In many such cases, the boundaries as of the date of the census [10 Cal.3d 414] do not reflect the present boundaries or what they are likely to be during the balance of the decade. Often census tract boundaries do not correspond exactly with the boundaries of such cities. fn. 9 In such instances, census tract boundaries which preserve the bulk of the city in one district have been followed even though it resulted in trimming off small peninsulas or other such extensions of territory. This has been done only where the population affected was relatively small.
Like the assembly plan, the congressional plan contained in Senate Bill 195 violates the recommended criteria of compactness and respect for city and county lines. Some districts contain appendages linking distant population areas while frequently cutting city and county lines. Again, the Governor's veto message cites specific examples of the most objectionable districts. Forty-one members of the congressional delegation have [10 Cal.3d 415] also submitted a plan which they refer to as a "modification" of Senate Bill 195. While this plan does modify the congressional plan approved by the Legislature, and improves upon it in a number of aspects by cutting fewer county lines and city lines and increasing compactness, it was not passed by the Legislature and does not reflect the Legislature's approval of the modification. Furthermore, the Legislature is responsible for enacting a reapportionment plan, and this responsibility cannot be assumed by the congressional delegation.
Furthermore, the Senate plan raises grave constitutional questions involving population deviations and dilutions of voting strength of black and Spanish-surnamed persons. It is true that Mahan v. Howell, supra, 410 U.S. 315 [35 L.Ed.2d 320, 93 S.Ct. 979], upheld a population variance of 16.4 percent in a legislative redistricting plan where that variance was justified by a consistently applied state policy of preserving county lines. Nevertheless, the senate plan, which has a population variance of 16.5 percent, with 21 of the 40 districts deviating by more than 5 percent from the ideal, does not appear to meet the constitutional requirements [10 Cal.3d 416] implicit in Mahan v. Howell and in White v. Regester, supra, 412 U.S. 755 [37 L.Ed.2d 314, 93 S.Ct. 2332]. The Senate plan cannot be justified under White because it has substantially greater population variances than were allowed in White. fn. 13 Even under Mahan the plan is suspect because of the absence of a rationally and consistently applied state policy such as preservation of county lines. While the Senate claims to have employed criteria such as county and city line preservation and community of interest recognition, it has not done so. The districts in the plan unnecessarily split cities and counties, often combine whole or partial counties across mountain ranges or bodies of water and disregard travel patterns, geography, common economic activities and other "community of interest" indicators.
Finally, the Masters have concluded that the factor of overriding importance in each plan in Senate Bill 195 was the goal of incumbent re-election. [10 Cal.3d 417] While protection of incumbents may be desirable to assure a core of experienced legislators, the objective of reapportionment should not be the political survival or comfort of those already in office. fn. 16 It is best if an incumbent's continuation in office depended upon effectiveness and responsiveness to constituents rather than upon the design of district boundaries. Extensive changes in constituencies necessitated by decennial redistricting are bound to affect most incumbents, who naturally value stability and predictability, and any reapportionment plan will make it necessary for some to work harder to become known to constituents.
Proposed plans that have been presented dealing with specific limited areas of the state have also been carefully considered. Proper weight was given to the reasons underlying such proposals. However, innumerable districts ideal for particular communities can be constructed if each is considered in isolation but when the entire state is divided into a specified number of districts, that which may appear ideal for one place or another must be subordinated to the goal of fair and reasonable reapportionment [10 Cal.3d 418] of the whole state. That is the goal sought and upon which the recommendations to the Court are based. fn. 18
The first step in preparing reapportionment plans was to divide the state geographically into basic reapportionment areas. The next step was to divide each area into districts. This was done separately for assembly and congressional districts because of varying population requirements. What follows is a description of this process with respect to assembly district formation. [10 Cal.3d 419]
Area IV required a further deletion to remove its excess population, and Area V required an addition to offset the loss of population caused by deleting its Mojave Desert area. Therefore the City of Pomona was taken from Area IV and added to Area V. The City of Pomona is part of the [10 Cal.3d 420] Pomona Valley region which consists of the Cities of Pomona, Claremont and La Verne in Los Angeles County and the Cities of Upland, Ontario, Montclair and Chino in San Bernardino County. Deletion of only the City of Pomona from Area IV was dictated by the equal population requirement.
District 3 consists of the six intact counties of Colusa, Sutter, Yuba, Sierra, Nevada and Placer and the remaining one-half of Butte County not included in adjoining District 1. Most of its population is in the north [10 Cal.3d 421] Sacramento Valley agricultural areas of Colusa, Sutter, Yuba and Placer Counties.
District 5 consists of the portion of Sacramento County located entirely north of the American River and includes a portion of the City of Sacramento. [10 Cal.3d 422]
Districts 30 and 31 cover the region consisting of Fresno, Mariposa, and Madera Counties, and small portions of Tulare and Merced Counties. Fresno County, with a population greatly in excess of an ideal assembly district, must be divided. The population in the proposed districts, in both urban and rural areas, share common interests in tourism incident to recreational use of Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks, in agriculture and cattle raising, and in attendant interests in the construction [10 Cal.3d 423] and maintenance of highways and the conservation and distribution of water.
District 34 is composed of the Mojave Desert portions of Kern, Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties, and all of Inyo County and consists generally of desert and mountain areas which, for the most part, are sparsely populated. Over 90 percent of the population is located in the comparatively compact area bounded by Palmdale and Lancaster in Los Angeles County, Edwards Air Force Base in Kern County, and Barstow and Victorville in San Bernardino County. This area contains an airplane manufacturing installation in the Antelope Valley, Edwards Air Force Base, which straddles the Kern-Los Angeles County line, Palmdale Air Force Base in Los Angeles County, China Lake Naval Air Station in Kern County, and Fort Irwin, George Air Force Base and the Barstow Marine Base in San Bernardino County, all constituting a community of interest. Two other population centers in the district, at Bishop in Inyo County, and at Needles in San Bernardino County, each with an approximate population of 5,000, are as distant from any other population centers as from the center of the district, and both are on major transportation links with other population centers in the district. [10 Cal.3d 424]
Districts 14 and 15 consist of the southern part of Alameda County, with the exception of the City of Fremont. [10 Cal.3d 425]
Districts 19 and 20 are located entirely within San Mateo County. Because the county exceeds the population size of two ideal assembly districts by 57,911 people, a small area on each end of the county is attached to districts in adjoining counties. Thus, an area in the north is joined in a district with part of the City and County of San Francisco, and an area in the south is joined in a district with part of Santa Clara County. District 19 comprises the northern half of the county, and District 20 the southern half. The county consists of many cities with similar political-economic [10 Cal.3d 426] interests. All cities within the two districts are maintained intact, with the following exceptions:
District 24 consists of the southerly parts of San Jose, including the Evergreen, Edenvale and Almaden areas. It also includes the southeastern part of the County of Santa Clara and the whole of San Benito County. This district contains much of the Santa Clara County agricultural production. [10 Cal.3d 427]
District 35 is the Santa Barbara portion. It is underpopulated by more than 1 percent, but less than 2 percent of the ideal. This could be corrected by taking part of one census tract in the City of Ventura in Ventura County. This was deemed undesirable for geographic and community of interests [10 Cal.3d 428] reasons, since the tract taken would have been remote from the remainder of the district.
District 42 includes the remainder of Glendale, primarily the northern portion which is somewhat removed from the central portion of the city, plus La Canada, Pasadena and South Pasadena. [10 Cal.3d 429]
Districts 51, 52, 53, 54, 57 and 58. These districts include the southern part of Los Angeles County, including the Long Beach and Torrance areas. [10 Cal.3d 430]
District 60 consists of the entire Cities of Rosemead, El Monte, Baldwin Park, and La Puente and adjacent unincorporated areas in the central San Gabriel Valley. [10 Cal.3d 431]
District 67, in addition to the portion of San Bernardino not included in District 66, is composed of (1) the northern communities of Crestline, [10 Cal.3d 432] Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake, interspersed with other resort areas, (2) the southeastern Mojave Desert area of Twentynine Palms, in San Bernardino County and (3) the eastern San Bernardino County areas of Loma Linda, Highland, Redlands and Yucaipa, together with the Riverside County areas of Beaumont, Banning, Sunnymead, San Jacinto and Perris, all of which are parts of extended agricultural areas.
District 73 includes all of the coastal cities of Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, more than 80 percent of the population of the City of Costa Mesa, and all of the adjacent interior City of Fountain Valley. The division of Costa Mesa, necessitated to achieve population balance, does not dilute its political effectiveness as a part of the District. [10 Cal.3d 433]
Districts 78, 79 and 80 correspond generally, although not exactly, to the three existing districts, and are fairly compact in arrangement, comply with the population requirement and include the major part of the City of San Diego and the Cities of Coronado, National City, Chula Vista and Imperial Beach. [10 Cal.3d 434]
It is possible, of course, to pair assembly districts in the San Francisco area to avoid dividing San Mateo County into two senate districts and efforts were made to devise pairings of districts that would accomplish this end. Any rational plan which united San Mateo County in a single senate district simply divided other, smaller counties such as San Joaquin, Monterey and Kern Counties and had an additional defect of combining either a coastal assembly district with a central valley district or a rural assembly district with part of Los Angeles. It was decided that a division of San Mateo County was a more acceptable solution. [10 Cal.3d 435]
District 14: Assembly Districts 27 and 30. This senate district includes the central valley between the City of Modesto, which is entirely within [10 Cal.3d 436] the district, and the City of Fresno which is partially within the district. Much of the population is near Highway 99 between Modesto and Fresno.
District 24: Assembly Districts 55 and 56. This district covers all of the eastern part of the City of Los Angeles and the large unincorporated community [10 Cal.3d 437] known as East Los Angeles. A majority of the population has Spanish surnames.
District 33: Assembly Districts 63 and 64. This district includes Downey, Norwalk, Whittier and La Mirada. The relatively lightly populated, but developing, Hacienda Heights and Diamond Bar areas are also included. [10 Cal.3d 438] The district is served by the San Gabriel River and Pomona Freeways, the latter being, in essence, the northern boundary for most of the district.
The districts in the senate plan have been numbered commencing in the north and proceeding to the south as prescribed by the California Constitution (art. IV, § 6). The same numbering system was used for assembly and congressional districts. [10 Cal.3d 439]
Districts 1 through 4 contain all of Northern California. District 1 includes most of interior California north of Sacramento, plus about 8,000 persons from the Folsom, area of Sacramento County who are required to [10 Cal.3d 440] equalize population. District 2 contains all of coastal Northern California including the counties of Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Lake, Napa and all of Sonoma County except 5,000 persons who must be included with Marin County to achieve strict population equality. District 3 is entirely within Sacramento County, and includes the major portion of the county. District 4 includes the lower Sacramento Valley Counties of Colusa, Sutter, Yolo, Solano plus a part of Sacramento County. The westerly part of the northernmost Sacramento County assembly district was used as the District 4 part of Sacramento, thus creating congruent boundaries.
Districts 10, 11, 12 and 13 are located in San Mateo, Santa Clara and southern Alameda Counties. District 10 includes most of Hayward and all of Fremont and Union City from Alameda County and the northeastern part of the Santa Clara Valley including the central and eastern parts of San Jose. To the extent practicable, assembly district boundaries in Santa Clara County were used as the boundary of District 10. District 11 is wholly within San Mateo County and includes most of the county, extending from the north boundary to Redwood City. Redwood City is divided between Districts 11 and 12 and is the only city divided in either San Mateo or Santa Clara County except San Jose, which is too large to be included in one district. District 12 contains southern San Mateo County and northwestern Santa Clara County including cities such as Palo Alto, Los Altos, Sunnyvale and Santa Clara. District 13 contains all of Santa Clara County not within Districts 11 or 12, including southern San Jose, numerous smaller suburban cities such as Los Gatos and Cupertino and the agricultural area in the Gilroy region. [10 Cal.3d 441]
District 21 is the eastern and northern part of the San Fernando Valley. The district boundaries are largely congruent with assembly district boundaries in the area. [10 Cal.3d 442]
District 26 and 30 include most of the San Gabriel Valley. District 26 includes the northern and eastern cities extending from Alhambra and South Pasadena on the west through Glendora on the east. The small part of Pasadena not included in District 21 is also included in this district. The Foothill Freeway is a major traffic artery serving the eastern two-thirds of the district. District 30 contains the southern part of the San Gabriel Valley and includes a number of smaller cities such as Monterey Park, Montebello, Pico Rivera, El Monte and La Puente. No cities are divided by the district. Over 40 percent of the population of the district have Spanish surnames. [10 Cal.3d 443]
Districts 35, 36 and 37 include the easternmost part of Los Angeles County, all of San Bernardino County and most of Riverside County. District 35 is centered in, and includes all of the Pomona Valley which is located in both eastern Los Angeles and western San Bernardino Counties. To obtain the necessary population, the Cities of Covina and West Covina, just west of the Pomona Valley are also included in the district. The sparsely populated part of the San Gabriel mountains just north of the populated areas of the district is also included in the district. District 36 contains the urban portions of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, including all of the Cities of Riverside, Colton, Rialto and Fontana and most of the City of San Bernardino. The district boundaries are entirely congruent [10 Cal.3d 444] with assembly district boundaries in Riverside County and substantially congruent in San Bernardino County. District 37 contains the outer suburban, rural, mountain and desert areas of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. It includes the cities of Redlands, Beaumont, Palm Springs, Indio, Victorville and Barstow and a small part of northeastern San Bernardino City.
In formulating these plans the Masters were aware of the observations of the United States Supreme Court that "Districting inevitably has sharp political impact and inevitably political decisions must be made by those charged with the task" (White v. Weiser, supra, 412 U.S. pp. 795-796 [37 L.Ed.2d p. 346, 93 S.Ct. p. 2355]), and that "Politics and political considerations are inseparable from districting and apportionment," and districting [10 Cal.3d 445] without regard for political impact "may produce, whether intended or not, the most grossly gerrymandered results" (Gaffney v. Cummings, supra, 412 U.S. 735, 753 [37 L.Ed.2d 298, 312, 93 S.Ct. 2321, 2331, 2332]). It is also true that political fairness is an appropriate goal of reapportionment (Gaffney v. Cummings, supra) and that there are legitimate interests to be served by allowing incumbents and their constituents to maintain existing relationships and in affording incumbents fair opportunities to seek reelection. Accordingly, it was deemed appropriate to consider whether the recommended plans are politically fair and whether they needlessly prejudice the legitimate interests of incumbents and their constituents.
The Masters are aware that there are instances where the places of residence of some incumbents under the recommended plans will not be located [10 Cal.3d 446] within the districts they formerly represented in large part and it will be necessary for them to change their residences if they wish to seek re-election in the areas encompassed within their former districts. This is because the increase in population and shift in the centers of population have caused a change in the size and configuration of districts. It is an unfortunate but necessary result that population shifts and adherence to objective criteria bring about inconvenience to some incumbents in order that the citizens generally may benefit.
Martin J. Coughlin, Presiding Master
Alvin E. Weinberger
Alvin E. Weinberger, Special Master
Harold F. Collins, Special Master [10 Cal.3d 447]
[10 Cal.3d 448]
[10 Cal.3d 449]
[10 Cal.3d 450]
­FN 1. In default of valid reapportionment legislation following the 1970 federal census the task of reapportionment is imposed upon us "to insure the electorate equal protection of the laws" (Silver v. Brown (1965) 63 Cal.2d 270, 282 [46 Cal.Rptr. 308, 405 P.2d 132]) and the right to equal participation in the election of United States Congressmen. (U.S. Const., art. I, § 2; White v. Weiser (1973) 412 U.S. 783, 790 [37 L.Ed.2d 335, 343, 93 S.Ct. 2348, 2352], and cases cited.) The vital importance of decennial reapportionment in a state such as California, which has experienced both substantial growth and shifts in population, may be illustrated by a comparison of the 1970 populations of existing assembly districts which were apportioned on the basis of the 1960 census. Thus, on the basis of the 1970 census there are now four assembly districts with populations that are approximately 37 percent below the ideal population, two districts with populations that are approximately 85 percent above the ideal, and two districts with populations that are approximately 71 percent above the ideal. Smaller but still substantial deviations exist in many other assembly districts. Comparable deviations in 1970 populations exist between senate districts and congressional districts that were apportioned on the basis of the 1960 census. Moreover, in the case of congressional districts the court was compelled to adopt a temporary reapportionment plan for the election of 1972 and must now adopt a permanent plan for the elections of 1974 to 1980 to provide for the additional five congressional seats that were allotted to California on the basis of the 1970 census.
­FN 2. Since we hold below that elections for senator are to be held only in the 20 new even-numbered districts in 1974, we conclude that a more orderly transition from the old senate districts to the new senate districts would be achieved by interchanging the numbers of the Masters' proposed senate districts 8 and 9 and the numbers of the Masters' proposed senate districts 27 and 30. Accordingly, the plans set forth in Appendix A to the Masters' Report are amended to provide that senate district 8 shall be composed of assembly districts 14 and 15, that senate district 9 shall be composed of assembly districts 12 and 13, that senate district 27 shall be composed of assembly districts 51 and 52, and that senate district 30 shall be composed of assembly districts 49 and 50.
­FN 3. In People v. Pendegast, supra, 96 Cal. 289, 295, the court pointed out the difficulties underlying the contention that elections should be held in all 40 senatorial districts following reapportionment. "And another consequence involved in this contention is, that not only must the constitutional term of the senators elected in 1890 be reduced by two years, but unless we are to abandon for all time the constitutional scheme of rotation in senatorial elections, the terms of one half of the forty senators chosen this year would have to be reduced to two years, in order that half of the senators might be chosen in 1894. But if this were to be done, how would it be done? and by what authority? The constitution contains no provision on the subject ...."
­FN 4. We recognize that when the Legislature reapportioned the Senate in 1965 it provided that there should be an election in all 40 districts in 1966. (Elec. Code, § 30121.) That reapportionment involved the radical change from a territorial-based apportionment to a population-based apportionment, and in view of the gross population disparities among existing districts, equal protection may well have compelled the Legislature to terminate all existing senatorial terms immediately following the next election. It is significant, however, that the Legislature provided for the return to the four-year staggered term system after the 1966 election (Elec. Code, § 30121) and that it made no attempt to depart therefrom in its abortive efforts to achieve reapportionment following the 1970 census.
­FN 1. Paul L. McKaskle, a law professor at the University of San Francisco and an experienced attorney, was retained as counsel and staff supervisor; Gordon E. Baker, a professor of political science, and Perry L. Stauffer, a management consultant with computer data processing experience, were retained as consultants, and three research clerks and two secretaries were also employed.
­FN 2. Declarations respecting the service of notice and furnishing the press release will be lodged with the Court.
­FN 3. Transcripts of the prehearing conference and all hearings will be lodged with the Court.
­FN 4. These exhibits and all written presentations will be filed and become a part of the record.
­FN 5. The ideal size of legislative districts in Regester, Gaffney and Mahan ranged from 46,485 to 74,645. The ideal California assembly district has a population of 249,661 and a senate district, twice as much. In this connection it is worth noting that one reason advanced by the U.S. Supreme Court in White v. Weiser, supra, 412 U.S. 783, 790 [37 L.Ed.2d 335, 343, 93 S.Ct. 2348, 2352], for requiring stricter population equality standards for congressional districts was because an ideal congressional district generally had a much larger population than a typical legislative district. California state legislative districts are, perhaps, the only exception to this generalization.
­FN 6. In Reynolds v. Sims (1964) 377 U.S. 533, 565-568 [12 L.Ed.2d 506, 529-531, 84 S.Ct. 1362, 1384], the Court said: "[T]he achieving of fair and effective representation for all citizens is concededly the basic aim of legislative apportionment."
­FN 7. See the explanation of the United States Bureau of Census on the development of census tracts in Appendix A of each PHC(1) publication on Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (e.g., PHC(1) - 190 relating to San Jose, California).
­FN 8. Moreover, the population data available on the computer used by the Masters was on a census tract basis. It is possible to divide the population within census tracts by reference to various Census Bureau publications, maps and computer printouts. The nature of such maps and publications is such, however, that it is often a very time consuming process to divide a tract requiring numerous hand calculations with attendant numerous possibilities for error. To calculate, describe and check the relatively few census tract divisions contained in the plans recommended herein required dozens of hours of staff time.
­FN 9. In many instances, a single census tract has small portions of two cities within it.
­FN 10. In one instance, the assembly plan was attacked for dividing the Spanish-surnamed group in the City and County of San Francisco.
­FN 11. Among the most unacceptable senate districts are Districts 8 and 9, which needlessly split numerous cities in San Mateo County; District 12, which links Stockton and Fresno while bypassing more proximate population concentrations; and District 18 which links a small part of the County of Santa Barbara, most notably the large university community of Isla Vista near the City of Santa Barbara, with Kern County by way of an unpopulated corridor in the form of a hook running through San Luis Obispo County to the Pacific Ocean and then south along the coast, bypassing populated areas enroute. District 18 lacks not only compactness but also a community of interest since the university community identifies closely with the City of Santa Barbara and not with Kern County. Indeed, an almost identical congressional district proposed by Senate Bill 195 (Congressional District 36) was criticized by the Governor's veto message as being severely defective.
­FN 12. Senate Bill 195 proposes a multimember senatorial district composed of the City and County of San Francisco and the northern part of San Mateo County. Such a district would permit the San Francisco voters to elect two senators while substantially reducing the voting strength of the district's San Mateo County voters. While the 1965 Reapportionment Statute (Stats. 1965, Second Ex. Sess., ch. 3, p. 68, § 5), premised on the 1960 census, provided two senatorial districts for the City and County of San Francisco, its population, as indicated by the 1970 census, is no longer sufficient to form two senatorial districts and substantially comply with the equal population requirement.
­FN 13. In White v. Regester, supra, 412 U.S. 755 [37 L.Ed.2d 314, 93 S.Ct. 2332], a plan containing a 9.9 percent total deviation, and a 1.82 percent mean deviation, with only 2 percent of the districts deviating from the mean by more than 5 percent, was upheld without a rational state policy justification. The senate plan contains a 16.5 percent total deviation and a 4.66 percent mean deviation, with 52.5 percent of the districts deviating by 5 percent or more from the mean. These numerical differences, combined with the important fact that the ideal Texas district was 74,645 persons while the ideal California district is 499,322 persons, meaning that 4 or 5 percent deviations in California districts will create districts with drastic population variances, compel the conclusion that the cases are distinguishable.
­FN 14. Substantial evidence was offered at the hearings that a deliberate attempt was made to reduce the effectiveness of black voters in District 31 by packing them into District 29. Prior to reapportionment, District 29 was 60 percent black and District 31 was 52 percent black. Despite the protests of Senator Dymally of District 29, the new plan increased his district to 73.7 percent black while reducing District 31 to 27 percent black. (Reptr. Tr., July 6, 1973, p. 182.) Furthermore, District 16, a so-called "Chicano" district in Los Angeles is actually a peculiarly shaped, elongated district that links only a part of the Spanish-surnamed community in Central and East Los Angeles with other areas in Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties with whom those of Spanish surname share no community of interest. The district was severely criticized by individuals and organizations concerned with Spanish-surnamed interests as not really being so constituted as to give such interests substantial influence in a senatorial election.
­FN 15. See White v. Regester, supra, 412 U.S. 755 [37 L.Ed.2d 314, 93 S.Ct. 2332].
­FN 16. A plan that seriously jeopardizes most incumbents would not necessarily be in the public interest, but the advantage enjoyed by incumbents accruing from their former service and from name recognition makes it highly unlikely that most would be in serious jeopardy solely because of redistricting.
­FN 17. For example, one congressional plan was the subject of extensive briefing pro and con on the issue of whether it would create a politically fair result.
­FN 18. Any person with even a passing acquaintance with reapportionment becomes aware of what is known as the "ripple effect," whereby the casting of one district on the water produces ripples felt throughout the state. If uncontrolled, this effect may result in the initial choice of a perfect district in one place leading to intolerably imperfect districts elsewhere.
­FN 19. The net result of the corrections was a slight increase in total 1970 California population from 19,953,134 to 19,972,882.
­FN 20. In the event that the maps and legal descriptions differ, the legal descriptions control. Should any such variances be brought to the attention of the Masters before these actions are concluded, a supplemental report resolving any inconsistencies will be filed with the Court. Finally, since the page size of this report and copyright problems preclude the use of some maps of greater clarity, supplemental descriptive maps will be lodged with the Court and be made available for public inspection.
­FN 21. Further purported reductions in the deviations would require massive census tract splitting which would, in all probability, create actual variations in population greater than achieved in this plan. (Cf. Gaffney v. Cummings, supra, 412 U.S. 735, 744-746 [37 L.Ed.2d 298, 307-308, 93 S.Ct. 2321, 2327-2328].)
­FN 22. See, e.g., Reapportionment in the 1970s (N. Polsby ed. 1971).
Wed, 11/28/1973 10 Cal.3d 396 Review - Criminal Appeal Opinion issued
1 LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA et al., Petitioners, v. ED REINECKE, as Lieutenant Governor, etc., et al. (Respondent)
2 LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA et al. (Petitioners)
3 ED REINECKE, as Lieutenant Governor, etc., et al. (Respondent)
Nov 28 1973 Denied
SCOCAL, Legislature v. Reinecke , 10 Cal.3d 396 available at: (https://scocal.stanford.edu/opinion/legislature-v-reinecke-32942) (last visited Tuesday August 11, 2020).