Mallory v. State of Ohio, C-2-95-381.
| Decision Date | 30 October 1997 |
| Docket Number | No. C-2-95-381.,C-2-95-381. |
| Citation | 38 F.Supp.2d 525 |
| Parties | William MALLORY, et al., Plaintiffs, v. The STATE OF OHIO, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Ohio |
Peter Jerome Randolph, Cincinnati, OH, Thomas I. Aitkins, Brooklyn, NY, James L. Hardiman, Cleveland, OH, Margrett Ford, New York City, for plaintiffs.
Orla Ellis Collier, III, James F. DeLeone, Norton Victor Goodman, Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff, Columbus, OH, James F. Friedman, Benesch, Fried-lander, Coplan & Aronoff, Cleveland, OH, for defendants.
FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
Plaintiff class asserts claims under § 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 1973 et seq. Plaintiffs allege, inter alia, that Defendants' use of district-wide at-large elections to elect state judges results in the denial or abridgment of minorities' right to vote.
The Court conducted a bench trial in this case on February 10-13, 18-20, and 24-26, 1997. For the reasons that follow the Court finds that Plaintiffs have failed to establish a violation of § 2 of the Voting Rights Act for any of the challenged courts, and that Defendants are entitled to judgment in their favor on all counts of Plaintiffs' Complaint.
1. Plaintiffs challenge the at-large election of state appellate and trial court judges in Ohio's eight most populous counties. In their Complaint, Plaintiffs assert that the at-large election of the judges of certain of Ohio's Courts of Appeals, Courts of Common Pleas, Municipal Courts, and one County Court impermissibly dilutes the voting strength of African-Americans in violation of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, Article I, § 2 of the Ohio Constitution, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and § 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, 42 U.S.C. § 1973. Complaint at ¶¶ 1, 27-31.
2. Specifically, Plaintiffs challenge the following judicial districts: (1) Courts of Appeals: First District (Hamilton County); Second District (Champaign, Clarke, Darke, Greene, Miami, and Montgomery Counties); Sixth District (Erie, Fulton, Huron, Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, Williams, and Wood Counties); Eighth District (Cuyahoga County); and Tenth District (Franklin County); (2) Common Pleas Courts: Hamilton County Common Pleas; Montgomery County Common Pleas; Franklin County Common Pleas; Mahoning County Common Pleas; Stark County Common Pleas; Summit County Common Pleas; Lucas County Common Pleas; and Cuyahoga County Common Pleas; and (3) Municipal and County Courts: Dayton Municipal Court (Montgomery County); Montgomery County Court # 1 (Montgomery County); Toledo Municipal Court (Lucas County); Bedford Municipal Court (Cuyahoga County); Franklin County Municipal Court (Franklin County); Youngstown Municipal Court (Mahoning County); and Akron Municipal Court (Summit County). Complaint at ¶ 41 (collectively, "challenged courts").
3. Defendants' Exhibits ("Def.Ex.") 6 and 7 display the courts subject to challenge, the territorial jurisdiction of each court, the number of judges for each court, the total population of each judicial district, and the black population of each judicial district. Def.Ex. C at 3. Plaintiffs have stipulated that the numbers contained in Def.Ex. 7 are accurate. Transcript ("Tr.") at 197-98. The Court hereby accepts this stipulation.
4. Def.Ex. 8 is a compilation of pertinent portions of 1990 Census of Population: General Population Characteristics, Ohio, CP-1-37, providing total and black populations for areas comprising the judicial districts. The Court has admitted Def.Ex. 8 into evidence, Tr. at 1670, and hereby takes judicial notice of the census data contained therein, as well as all other pertinent census data. See Grills v. Branigin, 284 F.Supp. 176, 180 (S.D.Ind.), aff'd, 391 U.S. 364, 88 S.Ct. 1666, 20 L.Ed.2d 641 (1968).
5. According to the 1990 Census, the total population of Ohio is 10,847,115 of whom 1,154,826, or 10.65%, are black. 1990 Census of Population: General Population Characteristics, Ohio, CP-1-37 at 21. See also Def.Ex. 17 at 1, No. 3.
6. Plaintiffs have submitted Plaintiffs' Exhibit ("Pl.Ex.") 45, which is a series of county maps indicating the boundaries of the challenged courts within Ohio's eight most populous counties and purporting to show the concentration of minority population within each county. Tr. at 799-801, 1524-25. These maps, in and of themselves, however, contain insufficient information to enable the Court to determine whether Plaintiffs have established the first Gingles precondition, i.e., whether African-Americans can constitute a majority in a geographically compact hypothetical single-member district. Tr. at 978-79, 1435-36, 1524-25, 1531, 1625-26. Although these maps indicate the approximate African-American population in each census tract depicted, they do not indicate the number of Caucasians within those tracts or contain the boundaries for political subdivisions within each county. Tr. at 978-79, 1524-25, 1625-26.
7. The named Plaintiffs are twelve (12) African-Americans who reside throughout the State of Ohio (collectively, "Plaintiffs"), Def.Ex. 17 at 1, No. 1, five of whom are current or former Democratic state legislators, i.e., William Mallory, Jeffrey D. Johnson, Casey C. Jones, C.J. Prentiss and Vernon Sykes. Complaint at ¶¶ 6, 12-14, 16.
8. On March 14, 1996, the Court granted Plaintiffs' request for certification of this case as a class action. The certified class is the voting age population of African-Americans entitled to vote and elect judges in each of the twenty challenged courts. Docket Entry ("D.") 45 & 46.
9. Defendants are Governor George V. Voinovich, Secretary of State Robert Taft and the State of Ohio (collectively, "Defendants"). Complaint at ¶¶ 18-20.
10. Before trial, the Court entered summary judgment on all of Plaintiffs' claims of intentional discrimination under the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, Article I, § 2 of the Ohio Constitution, and 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The Court also entered summary judgment in favor of Defendants on Plaintiffs' claims under § 2 of the Voting Rights Act with regard to the Sixth District Court of Appeals and the Court of Common Pleas for Stark County. D. 83. Plaintiffs have voluntarily withdrawn all of the claims upon which this Court entered summary judgment. Plaintiffs' Opposition to Partial Summary Judgment; Tr. at 857, 928.
11. Def.Ex. 16 is a compilation of judicial election results in the challenged courts from 1975 through 1996. Def.Ex. 15 is a distillation of those results listing only the races involving at least one African-American candidate. Plaintiffs have stipulated that, except where corrected during the trial, the information contained in these exhibits is true and correct. Tr. at 197-98. The Court hereby accepts this stipulation.
12. The Ohio Constitution and Ohio Revised Code governs the structure, organization, and territorial jurisdiction of Ohio's state court system. See Article IV of the Ohio Constitution, R.C. Chapter 2501 (Courts of Appeals), R.C. Chapter 2301 (Courts of Common Pleas), R.C. Chapter 2101 (Courts of Common Pleas, Probate Division), R.C. Chapter 2153 (Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division), R.C. Chapter 1901 (Municipal Courts), and R.C. Chapter 1907 (County Courts).
13. Under Article IV, § 1 of the Ohio Constitution, "[t]he judicial power of the state is vested in a supreme court, courts of appeals, courts of common pleas and divisions thereof, and such other courts inferior to the supreme court as may from time to time be established by law." The Ohio Supreme Court, the highest court in the State, consists of seven justices: a chief justice and six justices elected state-wide. Ohio Const., Art. IV, § 2(A) Def.Ex. C at 2.
14. Article IV, § 3(A), and R.C. 2501.01, divide the state into twelve compact appellate districts comprised of one or more whole counties, each of which districts has at least three judges. Def.Ex. C at 3. Defendants' Exhibit 5 is a map displaying the territorial jurisdiction of the appellate districts. The First, Eighth, and Tenth Districts are each comprised of a single county — Hamilton, Cuyahoga, and Franklin Counties, respectively. R.C. 2501.01(A), (H), & (J); Def.Ex. C at 3; Def.Ex. 7 at 1. The remaining districts are constructed by combining whole counties — no county is split between appellate districts. Def.Ex. C at 3; Tr. at 953-54. The Second District Court of Appeals is made up of Champaign, Clark, Darke, Greene, Miami, and Montgomery Counties. R.C. 2501.01(B); Def.Ex. 7 at 1.
15. Under Article IV, § 3(A), the General Assembly may increase the number of judges in any appellate district based on the volume of business within the district. Def.Ex. C at 3. Under this provision, the General Assembly has increased the number of judges in the First District to six, R.C. 2501.013(A), in the Second District to five, R.C. 2501.013(B), in the Eighth District to twelve, R.C. 2501.012(A), and in the Tenth District to eight, R.C. 2501.12(C). Def.Ex. 7 at 1.
16. Under Article IV, § 4(A) of the Ohio Constitution, "[t]here shall be a court of common pleas and such divisions thereof as may be established by law serving each county of the state." Def.Ex. C at 3. The Ohio Constitution gives the General Assembly the authority to combine one or more whole counties into a common pleas court district, Ohio Const., Art. IV, § 4(A) but the General Assembly has declined to do so. R.C. 2301.01; Def.Ex C at 3. The Ohio Constitution does not give the General Assembly the authority to divide counties into separate common pleas courts.
17. Each county court of common pleas must have at least one resident judge. Ohio Const., Art. IV, § 4(A); Def.Ex. C at 3.
18. The courts of common pleas include a...
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