Luther v. Borden
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Luther v. Borden, 48 U.S. 1 (1849)[#endnote_citation], was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States established the political question test in controversies arising under the Guarantee Clause of Article Four of the United States Constitution (Art. IV, § 4).
Martin Luther was part of the Dorr Rebellion, an attempt to overthrow the charter government of Rhode Island, which had stymied the efforts of those who wished to broaden the voting rights of state residents. The rebellion began as a political effort but turned violent. Luther was arrested by Luther Borden, a state official, who searched his home and allegedly damaged his property. Luther contended that, because the charter government was not republican in nature (it restricted the electorate to only the most propertied classes), the Supreme Court should find that Borden acted without proper authority. In doing so, the Court would necessarily find that the "Dorrite" alternative republican government was the lawful government of Rhode Island, superseding the charter government. The Supreme Court found that it was up to the President and Congress to enforce this clause and that, as an inherently political question, it was outside the purview of the Court.
This view was later abandoned in Baker v. Carr, in which the Court found that the Equal Protection clause of the Constitution permitted the Court to examine Tennessee's apportionment of legislative districts.
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