State ex rel. Allen v. Myers

The petitioners allege that the Secretary’s apportionment plan for the Oregon Legislature is contrary to the Constitution of the United States because “it unfairly divides a well-defined area which includes a large segment of the poor and black citizens of Multnomah County, the effect of which is to minimize or cancel out the voting strength of a cognizable racial and cognizable political element of the population.”

The petitioners request us to take original jurisdiction of their petition, that is, they request us to hear their case without the necessity of its first being tried in a trial…