Alexander v. Taylor, 97,836.

• Court: Supreme Court of Oklahoma
• Citation: 2002 OK 59,51 P.3d 1204
• Docket Number: No. 97,836.,97,836.
• Parties: Chad D. ALEXANDER, A. Marshall Snipes, Judith Pratt, Currie Ballard, Carolyn McLarty, Audrey L. Ewing, Don O'Nesky and Frank Keating, in his official capacity as Governor of the State of Oklahoma, Plaintiffs-Appellees, Steve Edwards and Colby Schwartz, Intervenors/Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. Stratton TAYLOR, in his official capacity as President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma State Senate, and Larry E. Adair, in his official capacity as Speaker of the House of Representatives of the State of Oklahoma, Defendants-Appellants, Richard Allen, Roosevelt Milton, Greg Robinson and Joel Porter, Intervenors/Defendants-Appellants.
• Decision Date: 25 June 2002

51 P.3d 1204
2002 OK 59

Chad D. ALEXANDER, A. Marshall Snipes, Judith Pratt, Currie Ballard, Carolyn McLarty, Audrey L. Ewing, Don O'Nesky and Frank Keating, in his official capacity as Governor of the State of Oklahoma, Plaintiffs-Appellees,
Steve Edwards and Colby Schwartz, Intervenors/Plaintiffs-Appellees,
v.
Stratton TAYLOR, in his official capacity as President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma State Senate, and Larry E. Adair, in his official capacity as Speaker of the House of Representatives of the State of Oklahoma, Defendants-Appellants,
Richard Allen, Roosevelt Milton, Greg Robinson and Joel Porter, Intervenors/Defendants-Appellants

No. 97,836.

Supreme Court of Oklahoma.

June 25, 2002.

As Corrected June 27, 2002.

Fred A. Leibrock, William S. "Bill" Price, B. Kay Carel, Phillips, McFall, McCaffrey, McVay & Murrah, Oklahoma City, OK, Efrem Mark Braden, Baker & Hostetler, Washington, D.C., for Plaintiffs-Appellees, Chad D. Alexander, A. Marshall Snipes, Judith Pratt, Currie Ballard, Carolyn McLarty, Audrey L. Ewing, and Don O'Nesky.

Kristye Kirk-Shores, Judy Terry, Office of the Governor, and Mike Hunter, Office of the Secretary of State, Oklahoma City, OK, for Plaintiff-Appellee, Frank Keating in his official capacity as Governor of the State of Oklahoma.

Andrew W. Lester, Lester, Loving & Davies, P.C., Edmond, OK, for Intervenors/Plaintiffs-Appellees, Steve Edwards and Colby Schwartz.

Don G. Holladay, Holladay, Chilton & De-Guisti, Oklahoma City, OK, for Defendants-Appellants.

Lee Slater, Oklahoma City, OK, for Defendant-Appellant, Stratton Taylor.

Heidi J. Long, Holladay, Chilton & De-Guisti, Oklahoma City, OK, Thomas J. Perrelli, Jenner & Block, for Defendant-Appellant, Larry E. Adair.

Ronald "Skip" Kelly, Oklahoma City, OK, for Intervenors/Defendants-Appellants, Richard Allen, Roosevelt Milton, Greg Robinson, and Joel Porter.

51 P.3d 1206

OPINION

WATT, Vice Chief Justice.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

¶ 1 Plaintiffs-Appellees, as residents and registered voters of the State of Oklahoma, filed their petition in this case, seeking injunctive relief to ensure compliance with the federal laws governing congressional elections in the State of Oklahoma as a result of the 2000 Decennial Census. The petition was amended to request the additional relief of a declaration that The Oklahoma Congressional Redistricting Act of 1991, 14 O.S. § 5.1 et seq., is unconstitutional. Appellees alleged it was determined by the 2000 Census that the number of Congressional districts in Oklahoma must be reduced from six to five because Oklahoma's population had failed to grow as fast as that of many other states since the 1990 Decennial Census. The 2000 census revealed that Oklahoma's population as a percentage of the nation's entire population decreased from what it had been under the 1990 census. Defendants-Appellants were sued in their official capacities.¹

¶ 2 Appellees alleged in their amended petition, filed February 21, 2002, that the Oklahoma Legislature had not yet adopted a redistricting plan and that the qualifying deadline for candidacy for the United States House of Representatives was July 10, 2002. They alleged that unless the Legislature adopted a redistricting plan in time for it to be implemented before the July 10, 2002 deadline, "the interests and rights of Plaintiffs and all Oklahoma voters in the enforcement of applicable election laws will be further compromised, and their rights under federal and Oklahoma law to participate in the congressional election process in a timely and equal manner will be further violated."

51 P.3d 1207

¶ 3 As the basis of their request for relief, Appellees cited Art. 1, § 2 of the United States Constitution, as amended by the Fourteenth Amendment, § 2, which provides, in part, "the House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several states" and that "representatives shall be apportioned among the several states according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each state . . . ." Appellees requested that the court ensure enforcement of the laws and adopt and implement a congressional redistricting plan to be in place in sufficient time for the candidate qualification and election process to go forward according to the schedule established by Oklahoma law

¶ 4 Appellants Stratton Taylor and Larry E. Adair filed a Motion to Stay Redistricting Proceedings, pending the earlier of (1) enactment by the Oklahoma Legislature of a new congressional redistricting plan; (2) the Legislature's May 24, 2002 sine die adjournment date; or (3) unanimous agreement among the parties that legislative enactment of a new redistricting plan was not reasonably anticipated to occur by the sine die adjournment date. Appellees objected to the stay. The trial court overruled the motion to stay, and the case proceeded to trial.

¶ 5 Five redistricting plans were submitted to the court. They are identified as follows:

1. Governor's, or Continuity, Plan, submitted by Appellees;

2. Senate Plan, submitted by Appellants;

3. Conference Committee Plan, submitted by Defendants and Defendants/Intervenors;

4. House Plan # 3, submitted by Defendants and Defendants/Intervenors; and

5. Edwards-Intervenors' Plan

¶ 6 Following a five-day, non-jury trial, the court filed its judgment on May 31, 2002, establishing the Governor's Plan as the Congressional redistricting plan to be implemented for the State of Oklahoma. On June 5, 2002, a three-judge panel of the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma entered an order in a pending case involving the same issues as those before us today. The federal court denied the motion of Defendants-Intervenors, Larry E. Adair and Stratton Taylor, to declare that the congressional redistricting plan implemented by the Oklahoma County District Court was void. The federal court's order also stayed further proceedings there until the conclusion of the appeal process in this Court. Appellants filed their petition in error in this Court on June 7, 2002 and we granted Appellants' motion to retain this appeal on June 12, 2002.

DISCUSSION

I.

THE OKLAHOMA COURTS HAVE JURISDICTION OVER THE ISSUES PRESENTED BY THIS APPEAL

¶ 7 Appellants argue that because of this Court's opinion in Jones v. Freeman, 1943 OK 322, 146 P.2d 564 and its progeny, we should hold that Oklahoma courts are without jurisdiction to decide this matter.² Appellants also rely on Smith v. Clark, 189 F.Supp.2d 503 (D.C.S.D.Miss.2002), prob. juris. sub nom., Branch v. Smith, ___ U.S. ___, 122 S.Ct. 2355, 153 L.Ed.2d 178 (2002), in support of the proposition that Art. 1, § 4 of the United States Constitution deprives state courts of jurisdiction to consider congressional redistricting disputes. For the reasons stated below, we disagree with Appellants'

51 P.3d 1208

analysis and hold that the courts of the State of Oklahoma have jurisdiction to hear and decide this matter

¶ 8 If we fail to act here, the obvious effect will be that the three judge federal district court that has been empaneled to consider the problem created by the failure of the legislature to agree on redistricting legislation will set new congressional districts in our stead. The parties agree that this will likely be the case. We deem such an outcome unsatisfactory based on both state law and the teachings of the United States Supreme Court.

¶ 9 No specific Oklahoma constitutional or statutory provision provides a procedural blueprint for how the trial court was to handle the issues presented to it here. Nevertheless, we hold that the trial court correctly assumed both that it had jurisdiction and that a justiciable controversy was presented because of Okla. Const., Art. 2, § 6, which provides:

The courts of justice of the State shall be open to every person, and speedy and certain remedy afforded for every wrong and for every injury to person, property, or reputation; and right and justice shall be administered without sale, denial, delay, or prejudice.

Given the unsatisfactory alternative to Oklahoma courts hearing and deciding this case, we have reexamined our jurisprudence addressing our jurisdiction in such matters and now hold that the trial court had subject matter jurisdiction and a justiciable case or controversy was presented. Further, after carefully reviewing the record, we find that the trial court's judgment was not clearly contrary to the weight of the evidence, is entitled to a presumption of correctness, and must, therefore, be affirmed.

¶ 10 In Smith v. Clark, which Appellants strongly rely on, a three judge federal district court in Mississippi enjoined the state courts from proceeding with carrying out the creation of new congressional districts. The court made clear that it was doing so for two reasons, neither of which is present here. First, it was unclear whether the state courts could have a redistricting plan in place in time for congressional elections because of the necessity of having any such plan pre-approved under the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1973c. No such problem exists here as the parties agree that no minority rights would be endangered if the court adopted either of the plans at issue, which the parties agree are the plan passed by the Oklahoma State Senate and the plan proposed by the Governor. Second, the Mississippi court made clear that there was at least a possibility that the Mississippi legislature might reapportion itself in time to provide for congressional elections. Here, by contrast, the legislature could not agree on a plan for two years and, in any case, has adjourned sine die, leaving no time for legislative action before the filing period for congressional offices begins in a matter of days. In any event, to the extent Smith v. Clark can be interpreted to stand for the proposition that state courts have no power to act in redistricting disputes because Art....