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Fortson v. Morris, 385 U.S. 231 (1966)
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General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
Fortson v. Morris, 385 U.S. 231 (1966)
Fortson v. Morris No. 800 Argued December 5, 1966 Decided December 12, 1966 385 U.S. 231
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
Syllabus
Georgia’s Constitution since 1824 has provided that a majority of the state legislature shall select the Governor from the two candidates with the highest number of votes in a general election where no gubernatorial candidate received a majority vote, a situation which arose in the November 8, 1966, general election. On equal protection grounds, a three-judge District Court invalidated the provision.
Held: Georgia’s provision for selecting a Governor is not invalid under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Pp. 233-236.
(a) A State can permit its legislative body to elect its Governor, there being no federal constitutional provision prescribing the method a State must use to select its Governor. Gray v. Sanders, 372 U.S. 368, distinguished. Pp. 233-234.
(b) The Georgia Legislature is not disqualified for malapportionment to elect a Governor, since, under Toombs v. Fortson, 384 U.S. 210, this Court held that it could function until May 1, 1968. P. 235.
(c) The obligation under an oath taken by Democratic members of the legislature to support party candidates ended with the last general election, which is over. Pp. 235-236.
262 F.Supp. 93, reversed.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Fortson v. Morris, 385 U.S. 231 (1966) in 385 U.S. 231 385 U.S. 232. Original Sources, accessed November 24, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=KW4MMJGHC6SZ4NY.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Fortson v. Morris, 385 U.S. 231 (1966), in 385 U.S. 231, page 385 U.S. 232. Original Sources. 24 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=KW4MMJGHC6SZ4NY.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Fortson v. Morris, 385 U.S. 231 (1966). cited in 1966, 385 U.S. 231, pp.385 U.S. 232. Original Sources, retrieved 24 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=KW4MMJGHC6SZ4NY.
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