United States v. Cohan, Civ. A. No. 2882.
| Decision Date | 28 May 1973 |
| Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 2882. |
| Citation | 358 F. Supp. 1217 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. W. H. COHAN, Municipal Supt. of Hinesville, Georgia, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Georgia |
R. Jackson B. Smith, Jr., U. S. Atty., Augusta, Ga., Walter Gorman and Harry C. Piper, Civil Rights Division, U. S. Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., for plaintiff.
Charles M. Jones, Donald H. Fraser, Hinesville, Ga., for defendants.
Before BELL, Circuit Judge, LAWRENCE, Chief Judge, and ALAIMO, District Judge.
In 1971 the General Assembly of Georgia amended the charter of the City of Hinesville so as to establish a new system of electing members of the municipal council. Under the prior law the five candidates obtaining the highest number of votes were declared elected. Effective at the election in October, 1971, a "post" system of election to such office was substituted. "Positions on the council shall be numbered 1 through 5, respectively" and candidates were required to designate by number the position on the council for which they offer. A majority of the vote is necessary both as to councilmen and mayor.1
Pursuant to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. § 1973c), the municipal authorities of Hinesville submitted the changed voting procedure to the Attorney General of the United States for approval. On October 1, 1971 (five days before the election) he objected to the "post" system. He stated that "Based on all the available facts and circumstances, we are unable to conclude, as we must under the Voting Rights Act, that these changes will not have a discriminatory racial effect on voting."2
The election was nevertheless held under the new system.
On October 22, 1971, the Government filed this action seeking a declaration by a three-judge court that the charter amendment violated Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act and an order requiring new elections to be held within a reasonsonable time. Among the defendants are the elected councilmen.
A hearing was held before a single district judge at Savannah on October 29, 1971. At the conclusion thereof the request for a three-judge court was denied. An order was entered holding that the election of the city councilmen was unlawful because of the Attorney General's objection to and failure to approve the "post" system. The Court directed that a new election be held in October, 1972.3
That ruling was reversed on appeal upon jurisdictional grounds. The Fifth Circuit held in December, 1972, that 42 U.S.C. § 1973c necessitates a hearing and determination by a court of three judges and that two "important" and "substantial" questions existed as to the application of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The issues are: (1) Is the new "post" voting procedure "different" from that in force on November 1, 1964? and (2) May the Attorney General "only object to the procedure without justifying his objection?" See United States v. Cohan et al., 470 F.2d 503 (5th Cir.).
Pursuant to that ruling, a three-judge court was convened and a hearing held at Savannah on February 9, 1973.
The first issue for determination raised by the Court of Appeals can be disposed of quickly. Neither at the single judge nor the three-judge hearing did defendants contend that the "numerical post" system was not a "different" voting procedure from the prior at-large election of councilmen.
The second question that the Circuit Court says should be considered is whether the Attorney General may merely enter an objection to the submitted change, unsupported by reasons or reasoning and without any explicit finding of any racially discriminatory effect of the new voting procedure. The question before us is whether or not there was valid federal scrutiny of the submitted voting change.
Following the hearing, we deferred a ruling in view of the pendency of a case in the Supreme Court of the United States scheduled for argument later that month. Among the questions there presented to the highest Court was the authority of the Attorney General to disapprove submitted changes in voting procedures when he is unable to conclude that there is no discriminatory racial effect. Counsel for the State of Georgia attacked the rule as to burden of proof prescribed by the Attorney General in the "standards" adopted by him for the administration of Section 5 of the Act, asserting that they are without statutory basis.4
On May 7th the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its decision. See State of Georgia et al. v. United States, 409 U.S. 911, 93 S.Ct. 232, 34 L.Ed.2d 172. The ruling settles the point at issue against the defendants in this case. It was held that although the "choice of language in the objection letter sent to the State of Georgia was not a model of precision, in the context of the promulgated regulations the letter surely notified the State with sufficient clarity that it had not sustained its burden of proving that the proposed changes were free of a racially discriminatory effect." The majority of the Court thought that the Attorney General's choice of a proof standard was "reasonable and consistent with the Act, and . . . that his objection pursuant to that...
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US v. City of Houston
...were elected under an invalid system to four-year terms. The court ordered new elections after two years. United States v. Cohan, 358 F.Supp. 1217 (S.D.Ga.1973).4 Ordering new elections is a drastic remedy for reasons that should be obvious. When elections have been held—even under a voting......
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US v. BOARD OF COM'RS OF SHEFFIELD, ALA.
...enactments clearly subject to the Act, such as did Robinson v. Pottinger, 512 F.2d 775 (5th Cir. 1975), and United States v. Cohan, 358 F.Supp. 1217 (S.D.Ga.1973); or they involved cities which do in fact conduct or supervise registration of voters. Of the latter type are Perkins v. Matthew......