Board_of_Estimate_of_City_of_New_York_v._Morris
Board of Estimate of City of New York v. Morris
1989 United States Supreme Court case
Board of Estimate of City of New York v. Morris, 489 U.S. 688 (1989), was a case argued before the United States Supreme Court regarding the structure of the New York City Board of Estimate.
| Board of Estimate of City of New York v. Morris | |
|---|---|
| Argued December 7, 1988 Decided March 22, 1989 | |
| Full case name | Board of Estimate of City of New York, et al. v. Morris, et al. |
| Citations | 489 U.S. 688 (more) 109 S. Ct. 1433; 103 L. Ed. 2d 717 |
| Holding | |
| The Board of Estimate's structure is inconsistent with the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because, although the boroughs have widely disparate populations, each has equal representation on the board. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | White, joined by Rehnquist, Marshall, O'Connor, Scalia, Kennedy |
| Concurrence | Brennan, joined by Stevens |
| Concurrence | Blackmun |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend XIV | |
Under the charter of the City of Greater New York established in 1898, the Board of Estimate was responsible for budget and land-use decisions for the city. It was composed of eight ex officio members: the Mayor of New York City, the New York City Comptroller and the President of the New York City Council, each of whom was elected citywide and had two votes, and the five Borough presidents, each having one vote.[1]
In 1981, attorney Richard Emery recruited three NYC women to file suit that the board was unconstitutional, an unpopular opinion at the time that lost in its first district court hearing. The ruling was later reversed on appeal, and the city's counter was picked up by the Supreme Court in 1988.[2]
The court unanimously declared the New York City Board of Estimate unconstitutional on the grounds that the city's most populous borough (Brooklyn) had no greater effective representation on the board than the city's least populous borough (Staten Island), in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause pursuant to the Court's 1964 "one man, one vote" decision (Reynolds v. Sims).[3] The Board was disestablished.
The case was argued on December 7, 1988, and decided on March 22, 1989. Justice Byron White delivered the Court's opinion.
- Board of Estimate of City of New York v. Morris, 489 U.S. 688, 489 U. S. 694 (US Supreme Court 1989-03-22).
- Freedlander, David (June 14, 2018). "Not That Long Ago, New York Really Was Governed From a Smoke-filled Backroom". Intelligencer. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- Cornell Law School Supreme Court Collection: Board of Estimate of City of New York v. Morris, accessed June 12, 2006.
- Poindexter, Georgette C. (1996). "Legal Empowerment of the Neighbourhood". Urban Studies. 33 (10): 1821–1829. doi:10.1080/0042098966394. S2CID 154468462.
- Rosati, A. D. (1990). "One Person, One Vote: Is it Time for a New Constitutional Principle?". New York Law School Journal of Human Rights. 8: 523. ISSN 1046-4328.
- Text of Board of Estimate of City of New York v. Morris, 489 U.S. 688 (1989) is available from: Cornell Google Scholar Justia Library of Congress Oyez (oral argument audio)
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