Full opinion text
MEMORANDUM DECISION CALLISTER, Chief Judge. I. INTRODUCTION This matter comes before the Court on defendant’s motion to dismiss and the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment. In an extensive stipulation filed with the Court, all the material facts in this case have been agreed to by the parties. This proceeding calls into question the validity of Idaho’s act of rescinding its prior ratification of the proposed “Equal Rights Amendment” to the Constitution of the United States, and the constitutionality of Congress’ act in extending the time period in which ratifications may be received. The plaintiffs bringing this suit consist of the State of Idaho, the leadership of the Idaho State Legislature, and individual legislators of that body; the State of Arizona, legislative leadership of both houses and individual legislators from the Arizona legislature. These plaintiffs are joined by the plaintiffintervenors, legislators from the State of Washington. They seek from this Court a declaration that, as a matter of federal constitutional law, Idaho’s act of rescinding its prior ratification is valid and effective; that Congress’ extension of the seven-year time limitation in which to present ratifications is unconstitutional in that it violates the grant of power given Congress under article V of the Constitution, and that the running of the seven-year time limitation tolls and terminates any ratifications enacted by the states to that point. Furthermore, the plaintiffs seek a mandatory injunction directing the defendant, the Administrator of General Services Administration, Rear Admiral Rowland G. Freeman III, to remove the name of the State of Idaho from all official records which would indicate that Idaho has adopted the proposed twenty-seventh amendment and return its prior ratification documents. Finally, the plaintiffs petition for an order enjoining the Administrator of General Services Administration from taking further account of any purported ratifications after the expiration of the original ratification period. On May 13 and 14, 1981, oral argument was presented by the defendant, represented by the Department of Justice, and defendant-intervenors, the National Organization for Women, on their motions to dismiss or in the alternative for summary judgment; plaintiffs and plaintiff-intervenors’ cross-motion for summary judgment was also considered at that time. These motions present the Court with essentially questions of first impression necessitating consideration of the premises of one of the pivotal provisions of the United States Constitution, the article V amending clause. In addition, the Court is confronted with the perennially perplexing problem of the legitimate relationship of the courts with the coordinate branches, particularly the Congress, in determining whether the questions presented here are proper for judicial resolution. After careful consideration of the difficult issues presented, it appears that the weight of constitutional precedent dictates that the defendant and defendant-intervenors’ motion to dismiss or in the alternative for summary judgment should be dismissed and plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment should be granted in accordance with the principles discussed below. II. BACKGROUND In March of 1972 Congress passed a resolution proposing the “Equal Rights Amendment,” as the twenty-seventh amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and submitted it for ratification to the legislatures of the states: JOINT RESOLUTION Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to equal rights for men and women. Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatiyes of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission by the Congress: “ARTICLE— “SECTION 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. “SEC. 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. “SEC. 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification. H. J.Res. 208, 86 Stat. 1523 (1972). From the advent of the amendment and until 1978, 35 of the requisite 38 state legislatures took action ratifying the amendment and sent official certifications of their actions to the General Services Administrator pursuant to 1 U.S.C. § 106b. But, in that same time period five states, Nebraska, Tennessee, Idaho, Kentucky, and South Dakota, while initially assenting to ratification, passed resolutions of rescission withdrawing their prior consent. The original seven-year ratification restriction set in the resolution proposing the “Equal Rights Amendment” would have expired on March 22, 1979, had not Congress taken action to extend the time period. On October 6, 1978, an extension resolution, House Joint Resolution 638, was presented to Congress for consideration. It read: Joint Resolution Extending the deadline for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That notwithstanding any provision of House Joint Resolution 208 of the Ninety-second Congress, second session, to the contrary, the article of amendment proposed to the States in such joint resolution shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States not later than June 30, 1982. While a majority of both Houses favored the extension resolution, proponents of the measure could not generate a two-thirds concurrence as had been the case when the original time period had been enacted. Therefore, the House acting by a vote of 253 to 189 and the Senate acting by a vote of 60 to 36 enacted the extension resolution by a simple majority. The resolution was later signed by the President. ■ The State of Idaho, which requires a super-majority, two-thirds, of the legislature to act in adopting an amendment, took action the first year the Equal Rights Amendment was proposed. The Idaho House of Representatives adopted Senate Joint Resolution No. 133 on March 24, 1972, by a vote of 31 to 4 and later that day the Senate passed it by a vote of 39 to 5. A certificate of ratification was duly issued by the Idaho Secretary of State and dispatched on March 29, 1972. A JOINT RESOLUTION RATIFYING THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES RELATIVE TO EQUAL RIGHTS FOR MEN AND WOMEN. Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: WHEREAS, the Ninety-second Congress of the United States of America, at its second session, in both houses, by a constitutional majority of two-thirds thereof, has made the following proposition to amend the Constitution of the United States of America in the following words, to-wit: “JOINT RESOLUTION “Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to equal rights for men and women. “RESOLVED BY THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED (TWO-THIRDS OF EACH HOUSE CONCURRING THEREIN), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission by the Congress: “ARTICLE— “ ‘SECTION 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. “SECTION 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. “SECTION 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.’ ” NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Forty-first Idaho Legislature that the proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America be, and the same is hereby ratified by the Forty-first Idaho Legislature. Adopted by the Senate March 24, 1972. Adopted by the House March 24, 1972 In February of 1977 the state legislature of Idaho took action to rescind its prior ratification of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment. On February 4, 1977, House Concurrent Resolution 10 was introduced and passed by the House by a vote of 44 to 26. On February 8,1977, the Senate passed HCR 10 by a vote of 18 to 17. Thus, by a simple majority Idaho declared its prior ratification “rescinded, voided, repealed, withdrawn, recalled and disaffirmed ....” The Secretary of the State of Idaho certified Idaho’s rescission to the Acting Administrator of the General Services Administration. The certification was duly received and noted blit questioned as to its validity. The State of Idaho and legislators then brought this action to declare its validity and compel the proper entry of Idaho’s action of rescission, including the return of the prior certificate of ratification. Unlike Idaho, the State of Arizona has not taken official action purporting to ratify or adopt the proposed twenty-seventh amendment; but rather has consistently acted to reject the proposed amendment in every legislative session from 1973 until 1978. With the passage by the Ninety-fifth Congress of House Joint Resolution 638 purporting to extend the time period in which to consider the amendment, the Arizona State Legislature approved a House Concurrent Resolution 2014 which called for the instigation of this suit. The State of Washington, by its legislature, ratified the proposed Equal Rights Amendment on March 22, 1973, and the certification of that act was forwarded to the Administrator of General Services. Washington has not taken any subsequent actions which are inconsistent with that initial determination of ratification. Four individual legislators brought suit in the Western District of Washington on the first day of the extended ratification period seeking the nullification of Congress’ act extending the period and a return of Washington’s certificate of ratification. The focal point of that action was the claim that Washington’s ratification was conditioned on a full ratification by three-fourths of the States within the seven-year time period. The legislators argued that because the ratification period had lapsed without three-fourths of the states ratifying, Washington’s ratification was now null and void, and Congress’ action in extending the time period did not extend Washington’s ratification. On June 13, 1979, the four legislators filed a notice of voluntary dismissal in the Washington suit and moved to intervene in this case to pursue the same issues. Their motion was granted June 13, 1979. III. THE ISSUES As indicated earlier the issues presented in this litigation are ones of first impression. A number of prominent Supreme Court cases have dealt with interpretations of the amendment clause, article V of the federal Constitution, but none have made direct holding on any of the questions considered here. While the areas that the Court is asked to address deal ostensibly with an interpretation of the fundamental nature of the process of amending the Constitution, at the threshold, however, are questions of justiciability that would preclude consideration of any of the substantive issues if they are found applicable. First, the Court must consider if the proper parties are before the Court and whether the issues raised are “ripe” for adjudication. If these hurdles are overcome, the Court must then consider whether the questions proffered are not properly “political questions” and thus better left to the legislative or executive branch. Only if these preliminary questions are found not to bar this Court’s jurisdiction is it proper for the Court to address what have been denoted the merits of the case, which are: first, whether or not a rescission of a prior ratification is a proper exercise of the state’s power under article V to act on a proposed amendment. A subsidiary issue to this inquiry is that if a rescission is a proper exercise of the state’s authority, is Idaho’s resolution of rescission proeedurally flawed. Second, is it a proper exercise of congressional authority under article V to alter a previously proposed time limitation for ratification; if so, must Congress act by two-thirds majority or would a simple majority suffice. Third, assuming the propriety of the congressional extension of the ratification period, how does the extension affect a state which has supposedly enacted its ratification conditioned upon the original time limitation placed on the amendment. Finally, a question is raised with regard to the propriety of the mandatory injunctive relief requested by the plaintiff. IV. JUSTICIABILITY The starting point for any discussion of justiciability is article III of the Constitution which limits the scope of judicial power to “cases” and “controversies.” U.S. Const. Art. Ill, § 2. These words are inherently ambiguous and accordingly their meaning has been dependent upon judicial interpretation. The Supreme Court in a series of noted cases has interpreted the article III limitation as a restriction of its jurisdiction to those “questions presented in an adversary context ... in a form historically viewed as capable of resolution through the judicial process.” Flast v. Cohen, 392 U.S. 83, 95, 88 S.Ct. 1942, 1950, 20 L.Ed.2d 947 (1968). The Court has articulated certain minimum prerequisites to adjudication — parties with standing and issues that are ripe and not moot, hypothetical, or political — that are necessary and sufficient conditions for securing what may be called the substantive judgment of the Court. Each of the justiciability standards has grown and evolved under scrutiny of a number of significant cases giving the courts an understanding of what type of questions and cases are meant to be resolved by the judicial branch. The concepts of ripeness, standing and political question are all separate aspects of justiciability, the absence of ripeness or standing or the presence of a political question precludes a court from further consideration of the case. See Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1, 96 S.Ct. 612, 46 L.Ed.2d 659 (1976) (ripeness); Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186, 82 S.Ct. 691, 7 L.Ed.2d 663 (1962) (political question); Gladstone, Realtors v. Bellwood, 441 U.S. 91, 99 S.Ct. 1601, 60 L.Ed.2d 66 (1979) (standing). At the present time there does not appear to be any firm, fixed rule as to the order of applying these elements of justiciability, Schlesinger v. Reservists to Stop the War, 418 U.S. 208, 215, 94 S.Ct. 2925, 2929, 41 L.Ed.2d 706; however, there is some authority that where these questions are before the court and none have been resolved definitively in a context readily applicable to the case presented, the court should determine the questions of standing and ripeness first. American Jewish Congress v. Vance, 575 F.2d 939 (D.C.Cir.1978). The reason for this procedure appears to be that an analysis of the standing and ripeness questions require only an inquiry into the limitations placed on the federal judicial power by article III. The political question issue, on the other hand, goes beyond a determination of article III limitations and requires an inquiry into other articles of the Constitution as well as consideration of basic notions of separation of powers. Id. at 943. As between standing and ripeness, no clear preference appears to exist as to which should be considered first. Since standing focuses on the parties and the nature of their injuries, and ripeness considers whether those alleged injuries have matured sufficiently or are properly defined so as to permit judicial resolution, it appears logical to approach standing first. A. Standing Among the areas of justiciability, the standing doctrine has proven to be one of the most intricate, troublesome, and confusing aspects of modern constitutional law. The Supreme Court has at times indicated that “[sjtanding has been called one of the most amorphous [concepts] in the entire domain of public law,” Flast v. Cohen, 392 U.S. 83, 99, 88 S.Ct. 1942, 1952, 20 L.Ed.2d 947 (1968), and that “[generalizations about standing to sue are largely worthless as such.” Data Processing Serv. v. Camp, 397 U.S. 150, 151, 90 S.Ct. 827, 829, 25 L.Ed.2d 184 (1970). The lack of clear articulation is not surprising in that it has been noted that the concept of standing reflects the court’s consideration of the judiciary’s proper role under our Constitution and in our democratic society. This does not mean, however, that the courts are left without direction. Beginning with the “cases” or “controversy” limitation found in article III, the Supreme Court has indicated that the standing is directed to one narrow question. The fundamental aspect of standing is that it focuses on the party seeking to get his complaint before a federal court and not on the issues he wishes to have adjudicated. The “gist of this question of standing” is whether the party seeking relief has “alleged such a personal stake in the outcome of the controversy as to assure that concrete adverseness which sharpens the presentation of issues upon which the court so largely depends for illumination of difficult constitutional questions.” Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186, 204, 82 S.Ct. 691 [703], 7 L.Ed.2d 663 (1962). In other words, when standing is placed in issue in a case, the question is whether the person whose standing is challenged is a proper party to request an adjudication of a particular issue and not whether the issue itself is justiciable. Flast v. Cohen, supra 392 U.S. at 99, 88 S.Ct. at 1952 (emphasis added). The emphasis, therefore, is directed to the litigant and whether he is in a position to have the courts decide the merits of the dispute or resolve the particular issues presented by his complaint. In order to make this inquiry, the Supreme Court has indicated that “both constitutional limitations on federal-court jurisdiction and prudential limitations on its exercise . . . . ” Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 498, 95 S.Ct. 2197, 2205, 45 L.Ed.2d 343 (1975) must be considered. The constitutional limitations referred to by the court have been outlined as requiring a showing by the plaintiff that he personally has suffered some actual or threatened injury — injury in fact- — , Id. at 501, 95 S.Ct. at 2206, to an interest “arguably within the zone of interests to be protected or regulated by the statute or constitutional guarantee in question.” Data Processing Serv. v. Camp, supra, 397 U.S. at 152-53, 829-30. Furthermore, the injury must flow from the putatively illegal conduct of the defendant, i.e., there must be a fairly traceable causal connection between the claimed injury and the challenged conduct. Arlington Height v. Metro. Housing Corp., 429 U.S. 252, 261, 97 S.Ct. 555, 561, 50 L.Ed.2d 450 (1977); Simon v. Eastern Ky. Welfare Rights Org., 426 U.S. 26, 41-42, 96 S.Ct. 1917, 1925-26, 48 L.Ed.2d 450 (1976). Finally, the plaintiff must establish that a substantial likelihood that the judicial relief requested will prevent or redress the claimed injury. Gladstone, Realtors v. Bellwood, 441 U.S. 91, 100, 99 S.Ct. 1601, 1608, 60 L.Ed.2d 66 (1979). With regard to these latter two formulations, the court in Duke Power Co. v. Carolina Env. Study Gp., 438 U.S. 59, 98 S.Ct. 2620, 57 L.Ed.2d 595 (1978), stated these criteria in the alternative indicating that the causation requirement is satisfied if the plaintiff establishes that the injury was the consequence of the defendants’ actions or that exercise of the court’s remedial powers would redress the injury. Id. at 74, 98 S.Ct. at 2630-31. See Riegle v. Federal Open Market Committee, 656 F.2d 873, 878 (D.C.Cir., 1981). The Supreme Court points out that even if these constitutional limitations are met a plaintiff may still lack standing under “the prudential principles by which the judiciary seeks to avoid deciding questions of broad social import where no individual rights would be vindicated and to limit access to the federal courts to those litigants best suited to assert a particular claim.” Gladstone, Realtors v. Bellwood, supra, 441 U.S. at 99-100, 99 S.Ct. at 1608 (1979). That is, the Court essentially looks to see if the litigant is asserting an injury which is peculiar to himself or to a distinct group of which he is a part, rather than one shared in “substantially equal measure by all or a large class of citizens.” Id. Therefore, this Court’s inquiry into the question of standing as it arises in this case must proceed along the lines of whether or not the constitutional and prudential limitations permit judicial determination of the merits, i.e., have the individual plaintiffs established that they (1) have suffered some actual or threatened injury which is peculiar- to themselves, (2) to an interest protected by the relevant law, (3) where the injury is caused by defendant’s action or capable of judicial redress. See, Riegle v. Federal Open Market Committee, supra. One additional point should be noted before beginning analysis of the question of standing. Since the focal point of the standing issue is whether or not the plaintiffs are the proper parties to raise the particular questions and not the validity of the merits, and because it is clear that when ruling on a motion to dismiss for want of standing, “both the trial and reviewing courts must accept as true all material allegations of the complaint, and must construe the complaint in favor of the complaining party,” Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 501, 95 S.Ct. 2197, 2206, 45 L.Ed.2d 343 (1975). In a review of the complaint and its prayer for declaratory and injunctive relief, it is evident that the Court must assume the following: (1) the defendant wrongfully refused to accept Idaho’s certification of rescission, and failed to properly report that Idaho was no longer within the group professing to have ratified; (2) the ratifications submitted by Idaho and Washington expressly limited their consent to adoption for a period of seven years and thus became null and void on March 22, 1979; (3) Congress’ act in passing the extension resolution was unconstitutional and void; and (4) the defendant wrongfully maintains that he can continue to hold as binding all ratifications heretofore received and continue to accept any subsequent ratifications. In light of these assumptions the Court will consider the plaintiffs’ claim of standing. Compare Riegle v. Federal Open Market Committee, supra, at 877. Each of the plaintiffs in this suit has presented the Court with an impressive array of facts and legal theories which support their claim of standing. From a review of the record there appears to be one group of plaintiffs, the individual legislators from the State of Idaho, who, if found to have standing, are in a position to present all of the pertinent issues in this case. If these plaintiffs are found to be proper parties, the Court will not need to consider claims of standing by the other plaintiffs in order to resolve the issues presented or grant the relief requested. The basis for the Idaho legislators’ claim of standing in this suit is that as participants in the ratification process, their individual votes, in favor of ratification for the seven-year time period or for the rescission of the prior ratification have been debased by the actions of the defendant and a suit of this nature is proper to vindicate their vote. In assessing this basis for standing, it should be noted that while recently state and national legislators have turned to the courts to pursue their causes, there are no special standards for determining their standing vis-a-vis a private litigant, Harrington v. Bush, 553 F.2d 190 (D.C.Cir.1977). Thus the legislator must meet the same three-prong test articulated above as any other litigant would. The injury to a protected interest that the legislators assert as a basis for their standing in this case stems from an impairment of a vote cast in favor of the proposed constitutional amendment, or in favor of the resolution rescinding the prior ratification. The right to vindicate a properly cast vote has been verified in a number of cases; two of particular importance in this case are Coleman v. Miller, 307 U.S. 433, 59 S.Ct. 972, 83 L.Ed. 1385 (1939) and Kennedy v. Sampson, 511 F.2d 430 (D.C.Cir.1974). Coleman v. Miller, supra, is important in this instance for two reasons: first, Coleman dealt with a challenge to the ratification of a proposed amendment under Article V. Second, Coleman is one of the origins of the concept of standing based on an action to vindicate a vote which has been in some way impaired. The Coleman case dealt with Kansas’ attempt to ratify a proposed amendment to the federal Constitution known as the Child Labor Amendment. The Child Labor Amendment was first proposed in June of 1924. While several states ratified the amendment, the Kansas legislature in 1925 adopted a resolution rejecting the proposed amendment. Fourteen years later Kansas again considered the amendment. The Senate vote on the ratification resolution resulted in a 20-20 tie among the 40 senators. The lieutenant governor then stepped in as the presiding officer of the Senate and cast his vote in favor of the resolution. The resolution was later adopted by the House of Representatives. Suit was brought by 24 members of the legislature, including the 20 senators who had voted against the resolution in the Senate, to restrain the certification of ratification. A suit was brought challenging the right of the lieutenant governor to cast the deciding vote in the Senate arguing that he was not part of the “legislature” as specified in article V of the Constitution. The plaintiffs also challenged the proposed ratification on the grounds that the prior rejection by Kansas barred any subsequent reconsideration, and since Kansas had failed to ratify within a reasonable time the amendment had lost its vitality. The plaintiffs’ suit was challenged on the ground that the petitioners did not have standing to raise these questions. The Kansas Supreme Court found that the plaintiffs had standing but ruled against the plaintiffs on the substantive issues. On appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States, the court held that the cases cited in support of the contention, that petitioners lack an adequate interest to invoke our jurisdiction to review, to be inapplicable. Here, the plaintiffs include twenty senators, whose votes against ratification have been overriden and virtually held for naught although if they are right in their contentions their votes would have been sufficient to defeat ratification. We think that these senators have a plain, direct and adequate interest in maintaining the effectiveness of their votes. . Petitioners come directly within the provisions of the statute governing our appellate jurisdiction. They have set up and claimed a right and privilege under the Constitution of the United States to have their votes given , effect .... Id. at 438, 59 S.Ct. at 975. The court based this holding on a review of a series of cases arising under challenges to proposed amendments particularly Hawke v. Smith, No. 1, 253 U.S. 221, 40 S.Ct. 495, 64 L.Ed. 871 (1920), and Leser v. Garnett, 258 U.S. 130, 42 S.Ct. 217, 66 L.Ed. 505 (1922). The Court pointed out that standing was granted to the plaintiff in Hawke v. Smith, No. 1, supra, who was suing as a “citizen and elector of the State of Ohio,” and in Leser v. Garnett, supra, to “qualified voters” in the State of Maryland. Of these decisions the court wrote: The interest of the plaintiffs in Leser v. Garnett as merely qualified voters at general elections is certainly much less impressive than the interest of the twenty senators in the instant case. This is not a mere intra-parliamentary controversy but the question relates to legislative action deriving its force solely from the provisions of the Federal Constitution and the twenty senators were not only qualified to vote on the question of ratification but their votes, if the Lieutenant Governor were excluded as not being a part of the legislature for that purpose, would have been decisive in defeating the ratifying resolution. We are of the opinion that Hawke v. Smith and Leser v. Garnett are controlling authorities .... Coleman v. Miller, supra 307 U.S. at 441, 59 S.Ct. at 976. The Coleman precedent was followed and elucidated somewhat by the court in Kennedy v. Sampson, supra. In that case Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, plaintiff, filed suit against the Administrator of General Services Administration seeking a declaration that the Family Practice of Medicine Act had become law and an order requiring the defendant to publish the Act as a validly enacted law. The Family Practice of Medicine Act had been passed by large margins in both the Senate and the House, and was presented to the President for his approval on December 14, 1970. Both Houses thereafter adjourned for the Christmas holidays. The President neither signed nor vetoed the measure but issued a statement disapproving the bill and announcing that he would not sign it. Senator Kennedy, the chief proponent of the Act and one of the Senators who had voted in favor of it, maintained that the President’s actions in disapproving the action resulted in a “pocket veto” which would automatically become law after ten days. In the alternative, Senator Kennedy argued that if the President’s actions could be considered a veto, the Act should be returned for further consideration by Congress. As it stood, Senator Kennedy argued that his vote had been impaired because the Act had neither become law nor had he been given his right to vote on an override. A major barrier to Senator Kennedy’s suit was the question of standing. On appeal the circuit court concluded that “any of the traditional methods of evaluating the standing of a party to sue” Id, at 433, would support the plaintiff’s claim of standing. In particular the court reviewed Coleman and stated that: [T]he office of United States Senator does confer a participation in the power of the Congress which is exercised by a Senator when he votes for or against proposed legislation. In the present case, appellee has alleged that conduct by officials of the executive branch amount to an illegal nullification not only of Congress’ exercise of its power, but also of appellee’s exercise of his power. In the language of the Coleman opinion, appellee’s object in this lawsuit is to vindicate the effectiveness of his vote. No more essential interest could be asserted by a legislator. We are satisfied, therefore, that the purposes of the standing doctrine are fully served in this litigation. Id. 307 U.S. at 436, 59 S.Ct. at 974. It follows, therefore, that Coleman and Kennedy support the proposition that a plaintiff in his position as a legislator, and having full authority to act in that office, exercises his right to vote on a matter and that if that vote or opportunity to vote is nullified that the plaintiff has a protected interest in vindicating his vote. The plaintiffs here are specially empowered under article V to participate in the amendment process, and are therefore asserting a judicially recognizable injury particular to themselves and not what might be termed a “general grievance.” The plaintiffs have exercised their right to participate in the amendment process by voting in favor of ratification and at a subsequent time voting for rescission of that prior ratification. With reference to the assumptions that must be drawn from the complaint, it is clear that the plaintiffs’ acts have been infringed and held for naught in that they have not been given the full effect that was intended. For example, the actions of Congress in lengthening the ratification period and extending Idaho’s ratification into a period which was not contemplated initially expressly impinges upon the plaintiffs’ action of ratifying only for the limited period and gives rise to an action to vindicate the intent of their vote. In the same vein, the refusal to recognize the plaintiffs’ act of rescinding the prior ratification as fully and completely retracting the prior expression impinges on the legislator’s right to participate in the ratification process and gives rise to a cause of action. The plaintiffs in this instance have established direct injury in fact to their constitutionally protected interest of participating in the process of amending the Constitution and thus the first bar to standing has been met. The inquiry must now shift to the question whether or not there is a “causal connection” or “logical nexus” between the actions of the defendant and the injury suffered by the plaintiffs. In addressing the problem of standing to raise the question of the right of rescission, an essential part of this inquiry is into the nature of the duties of the defendant as found in 1 U.S.C. § 106b. While the plaintiffs argue that the defendant exercises a discretionary function in determining whether a ratification has been made in “accordance] [with] the provisions of the Constitution,” the defendant maintains his function is merely ministerial. If the defendant’s authority is discretionary, then there would exist a direct causal link between his actions of not giving full effect to the rescission and the impairment of the plaintiffs’ vote. If, however, the defendant’s acts are merely ministerial, then no causal connection would exist. Rather than attempt to resolve one of the merits in this case under a consideration of standing, and following the principle laid down by Harrington v. Bush, supra, the material allegations of the complaint must be accepted as true, thus the defendant’s acts must be considered discretionary. In doing so, it becomes clear that the causal connection between the defendant’s act and the plaintiffs’ injury is fulfilled. With regard to the alleged injury flowing from the extension of the time limitation, the defendant argues that no causal connection exists between any act of his and the injury to the plaintiffs, if any, because such would flow from the congressional act of passing the extension resolution. The court in Riegle v. Federal Open Market Committee, supra, dealing with a similar argument, indicated that where the causation requirement is not met because the named defendants are not the actual cause of the injury, e.g., in Riegle the cause of the injury was the Congress’ act in passing 12 U.S.C. § 263(a) and not the committee’s actions pursuant to that statute, it is proper to allege as a defendant those parties who act “unconstitutionally under the law . . . and not the legislature which enacted the statute. See generally, Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 1 Cranch 137, 175-80, 2 L.Ed. 60 (1803).” Id. at 879 n.6. Finally, since the causation requirement can also be met by showing that “prospective [judicial] relief will remove the harm,” Warth v. Seldin, supra, 422 U.S. at 498-99, 95 S.Ct. at 2204-05, see Duke Power v. Caroline Env. Study Gp., supra, and it is clear that the plaintiffs’ alleged injury can be redressed by a declaration by this Court regarding the constitutionality of the various acts of rescission and extension, this requirement can be satisfied by the Court’s consideration of and resolution of the merits. It is clear from the foregoing review of the constitutional and prudential limitations to the Court’s jurisdiction that the Idaho legislators are proper parties to bring this suit in that they have met all of the requirements for standing outlined by the Supreme Court. Furthermore, since they are also proper plaintiffs to raise all of the . issues presented by this suit, the Court need not determine the merit of the other plaintiffs’ assertions of standing. B. Ripeness A second consideration for the Court in determining justiciability is whether or not the action and the issues presented are sufficiently ripe for adjudication. “As is well known the federal courts established pursuant to Article III of the Constitution do not render advisory opinions. For adjudication of constitutional issues, ‘concrete legal issues, presented in actual cases, not abstractions,’ are requisite. This is as true of declaratory judgments as any other field.” United Public Workers v. Mitchell, 330 U.S. 75, 89, 67 S.Ct. 556, 564, 91 L.Ed. 754 (1947). While some of the considerations found in standing may overlap in the analysis of ripeness, they are nevertheless founded on essentially different inquiries. “Unlike the doctrine of standing, which establishes that the plaintiff must have sufficient interest in a case, or the requirement that the controversy must be real and not collusive, the doctrine of ripeness focuses upon the extent to which the controversy has matured at the time of the litigation.” Dyer v. Blair, 390 F.Supp. 1287, 1289 (N.D. Ill.E.D., 1974). Thus the focus is shifted away from the litigants themselves and turned to the development of the issues to assure that the parties are so arrayed with adverse legal interests and in such a concrete fashion as to warrant judicial relief. Golden v. Zwickler, 394 U.S. 103, 108, 89 S.Ct. 956, 959, 22 L.Ed.2d 113 (1969); Aetna Life Insurance Co. of Hartford, Conn. v. Haworth, 300 U.S. 227, 240-41, 57 S.Ct. 461, 463-64, 81 L.Ed. 617 (1937). Recently, Justice Powell held that the issues in Goldwater v. Carter, 444 U.S. 996, 100 S.Ct. 533, 62 L.Ed.2d 428 (1979) were not ripe for judicial determination. He wrote: This Court has recognized that an issue should not be decided if it is not ripe for judicial review. Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1, 113-114 [96 S.Ct. 612, 679-80, 46 L.Ed.2d 659] (1976) (per curiam). Prudential considerations persuade me that a dispute between Congress and the President is not ready for judicial review unless and until each branch has taken action asserting its constitutional authority. Differences between the President and the Congress are commonplace under our system. The differences should, and almost invariably do, turn on political rather than legal considerations. The Judicial Branch should not decide issues affecting the allocation of power between the President and Congress until the political branches reach a constitutional impasse. Id. at 997, 100 S.Ct. at 534. Since Goldwater dealt with the question of the allocation of power between two coordinate branches of government, the President and the Congress, in the process of terminating a mutual defense treaty, the constitutional impasse that Justice Powell was looking for was the assertion of apparently conflicting constitutional powers. Congress, however, had not taken any action with regard to the President’s cancellation of the treaty. Thus, until Congress took action asserting what might be perceived as its authority under the Constitution, the case would not be ripe for adjudication. This case presents a somewhat similar situation. The essential questions here relate to the allocation of power of two entities— the state legislatures and Congress — acting under the auspices of article V. The inquiry is, therefore, whether inconsistent or conflicting positions have been taken regarding that power which would create the type of impasse necessary for judicial interpretation. An initial argument relied on by the defendant should be dealt with at this juncture of the Court’s consideration of the question of ripeness. The defendant argues that questions such as those raised by this litigation are not ripe until three-fourths of the states have acted in ratifying. He argues that since the amendment process consists of “succeeding steps in a single endeavor,” Dillon v. Gloss, 256 U.S. 368, 375, 41 S.Ct. 510, 512, 65 L.Ed. 994 (1921), until all the steps are taken, questions arising from that process are not ripe for adjudication. Whatever the logical appeal this argument might have, the Court is not at liberty to accept this approach in light of the overwhelming caselaw to the contrary. The Court is not aware of nor has it been referred to any case under article V that has been dismissed on the grounds that the case is not ripe because all the steps have not been taken. Rather, it appears that numerous Supreme Court and lower court cases have resolved specific substantive and procedural questions relating to article V prior to ratification by three-fourths of the states. See Kimble v. Swackhamer, 439 U.S. 1385, 99 S.Ct. 51, 58 L.Ed.2d 225 (1978); Dyer v. Blair, 390 F.Supp. 1291 (N.D.Ill.1975); Trombetta v. Florida, 353 F.Supp. 575 (M.D.Fla.1973); Coleman v. Miller, 307 U.S. 433, 59 S.Ct. 972, 83 L.Ed. 1385 (1939); United States v. Sprague, 282 U.S. 716, 51 S.Ct. 220, 75 L.Ed. 640 (1931); Leser v. Garnett, 258 U.S. 130, 42 S.Ct. 217, 66 L.Ed. 505 (1922); National Prohibition Cases, 253 U.S. 350, 40 S.Ct. 486, 64 L.Ed. 946 (1920); Hawke v. Smith, No. 2, 253 U.S. 231, 40 S.Ct. 498, 64 L.Ed. 877 (1920); Hawke v. Smith, No. 1, 253 U.S. 221, 40 S.Ct. 495, 64 L.Ed. 871 (1920); Dillon v. Gloss, 256 U.S. 368, 41 S.Ct. 510, 65 L.Ed. 994 (1921); Hollingsworth v. Virginia, 3 U.S. 3 Dall 378, 1 L.Ed. 644 (1798). Therefore, the Court must review the actions of the defendant and plaintiffs to determine whether or not they have exercised their authority under article V so as to create a constitutional impasse, noting always that the Court in reviewing the defendant’s motion to dismiss for lack of ripeness, it must construe the material portions of the plaintiffs’ complaint against the moving party and in a light most advantageous to the plaintiffs. Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 501, 95 S.Ct. 2197, 2206, 45 L.Ed.2d 343 (1975). Considering the question of the propriety of the extension resolution passed by Congress, the plaintiffs, the Idaho legislators, exercised their authority under article V by enacting a ratification resolution which is good for only the seven-year period originally proposed by Congress. The congressional act extending the ratification period continues Idaho’s ratification into a period to which it has not consented thus contravening the asserted intent of their ratification. Both the parties have exercised what they argue are their powers granted under Article V, and there is no subsequent act necessary to bring the question of extension into issue. The Idaho plaintiffs have acted to ratify for the seven-year period and Con- gress has abrogated that vote by extending it beyond the period intended by those ratifying, thus, since the extended period began, Idaho has had a continuing injury that is ripe for judicial resolution. Turning to the question of the ripeness of the rescission issue, it appears that it also is ripe for much the same reason. The state legislature passed a resolution rescinding its prior ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, and certified that fact to the Administrator of General Services. The act of rescission served the dual purpose of (1) establishing the state’s position regarding the ratification of the proposed amendment, and (2) cancelling its prior act of ratification. Again accepting as true the material allegations of the complaint, i.e., Idaho’s authority to rescind its prior ratification, and the defendant’s exercise of discretion to determine that the state rescission is not to be given full effect, then the fact that the defendant has refused to remove Idaho’s name from the official lists of those who are considered as having ratified, but has merely reported the rescission along with the ratification is a sufficient assertion of an adverse power to create that impasse necessary for adjudication. The actions of the defendant in refusing to give full effect to the state’s rescission, both lets stand the prior ratification which the state no longer supports and refuses to recognize its present position, and gives rise to a fully ripe conflict of the type proper for the courts to resolve. Since the issues are properly before the Court, and presented by the proper parties, the Court must now determine whether the questions are those which are to be decided by the courts or by another one of the co-equal branches. C. Political Question Defendant maintains that if the questions presented in the instant case are determined to be otherwise justiciable, the case is barred from consideration by this Court because it presents a non-justiciable ^“political question.” The case law in the /federal courts uniformly holds that a cause I of action presenting a “political question” will not be adjudicated by the courts. Goldwater v. Carter, 444 U.S. 996, 100 S.Ct. 533, 62 L.Ed.2d 428 (1979); Powell v. McCormack, 395 U.S. 486, 89 S.Ct. 1944, 23 L.Ed.2d 491 (1969); Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186, 82 S.Ct. 691, 7 L.Ed.2d 663 (1962). In outlining the parameters of the political question doctrine, the Supreme Court established that “it is the relationship between the judiciary and the coordinate branches of the Federal Government, and not the federal judiciary’s relationship to the States, which gives rise to the ‘political question’ .... The nonjusticiability of a political question is primarily a function of the separation of powers.” Baker v. Carr, supra at 210, 82 S.Ct. at 706. While the questions presented for this Court’s determination deal essentially with the relationship and allocation of authority between the Congress and the states pursuant to article V of the Constitution, the antecedent question of who decides what that relationship is must be decided. That, it is contended, brings into play the potential bar of the “political question” doctrine. The Supreme Court has given six formulations of the political question doctrine, any one of which operates as a “velvet blackjack” removing this Court’s power to exercise jurisdiction over these matters. The six criteria are: a textually demonstrable constitutional commitment of the issue to a coordinate political department; [2] or a lack of judicially discoverable and manageable standards for resolving it; [3] or the impossibility of deciding without an initial policy determination of a kind clearly for nonjudicial discretion; [4] or the impossibility of a court’s undertaking independent resolution without expressing lack of the respect due coordinate branches of government; [5] or an unusual need for unquestioning adherence to a political decision already made; [6] or the potentiality of embarrassment from multifarious pronouncements by various departments on one question. Baker v. Carr, supra at 217, 82 S.Ct. at 710. An analysis of the question of the state’s power to rescind a prior ratification and Congress’ power to extend the ratification deadline, along with the initial question of who decides these questions, should be considered in conjunction with these six formulations of the political question doctrine to determine whether or not this Court is barred from further consideration of this matter. 1. Textually Demonstrable Constitutional Commitment to a Coordinate Political Department In Goldwater v. Carter, supra, Justice Brennan wrote that the “political question” doctrine restrains courts’ review of an exercise of a policy decision made by a coordinate political branch to which authority to make that judgment has been “constitutionally] commit[ted]” Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186, 211-213, 217 [82 S.Ct. 691, 706-08, 710, 7 L.Ed.2d 663] (1962). But the doctrine does not pertain when a court is faced with the antecedent question whether a particular branch has been constitutionally designated as the repository of political decisionmaking power. Cf. Powell v. McCormack, 395 U.S. 486, 519-521 [89 S.Ct. 1944, 1962-63, 23 L.Ed.2d 491] (1969). The issue of decisionmaking authority must be resolved as a matter of constitutional law, not political discretion; accordingly, it falls within the competence of the courts. Goldwater v. Carter, supra 444 U.S. at 1006-7, 100 S.Ct. at 539. In a somewhat similar vein the court in Baker v. Carr, supra, wrote that “[d]eciding whether a matter has in any measure been committed by the Constitution to another branch of government ... is itself a delicate exercise in constitutional interpretation and is a responsibility of this Court as ultimate interpreter of the Constitution.” 369 U.S. at 211, 82 S.Ct. at 706. In addition, the Supreme Court has indicated that In order to determine whether there has been a textual commitment to a coordinate department of the Government, we must interpret the Constitution .... we must first determine what power the Constitution confers . . , before we can determine to what extent, if any, the exercise of that power is subject to judicial review. In other words, whether there is a “textually demonstrable constitutional commitment of the issue to a co-ordinate political department” of government and what is the scope of such commitment are questions we must resolve .... Powell v. McCormack, supra 395 U.S. at 519, 521, 89 S.Ct. at 1963, 1964. Therefore, in order to determine the existence and extent of any “textual commitment” to the various actors under article V it is necessary to turn to the Constitution itself in order to determine the allotment of powers among the participants and the degree to which each is subject to judicial review or interpretation. While it is noted that the text of the Constitution does not expressly deal with either of the substantive questions presented nor does it direct either the Congress or the judiciary to determine how article V should be interpreted, this fact “is not in itself controlling; for with the Constitution, as with a statute or other written instrument, what is reasonably implied is as much a part of it as what is expressed.” Dillon v. Gloss, 256 U.S. 368, 373, 41 S.Ct. 510, 512, 65 L.Ed. 994 (1921). In attempting to determine what is implied by article V, it appears appropriate for the Court to try first to ascertain why article V was structured as it is and what the intent of the framers was in providing for this section of the Constitution. In order to do so the philosophical and historical underpinnings of article V must be scrutinized. In addition, since the courts have not been reluctant in interpreting article V, the authoritative case law must be reviewed. Before embarking on a review of the allocation of powers under article V to determine the existence of a constitutional commitment of the pending issues to a particular party, one of the defendant’s contentions must be considered. The defendant argues that the whole of this case is barred from judicial consideration because the Congress is granted exclusive and plenary control over all phases of and questions arising out of the amendatory procedure. A three-judge court in Dyer v. Blair, 390 F.Supp. 1291 (1975) addressed this proposition. Judge Stevens (now Justice Stevens) wrote: There is force to . .. [this] argument since it was expressly accepted by four Justices of the Supreme Court in Coleman v. Miller, 307 U.S. 433, 59 S.Ct. 972, 83 L.Ed. 1385. But since a majority of the Court refused to accept that position in that case, and since the Court has on several occasions decided questions arising under article V, even in the face of “political question” contentions, that argument is not one which a District Court is free to accept. Dyer v. Blair, supra at 1299,1300 (footnotes omitted). Furthermore, a review of article V reveals that the judiciary, while only dealing with article V in a handful of cases, has nevertheless dealt with virtually all the significant portions of that article. These decisions considered and interpreted the following underlined portions of article V: The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, . . . which . . . shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as part of this Constitution , when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress .... U.S.Const. Art. V (emphasis and footnotes added). Finally, as will be pointed out later, giving plenary power to Congress to control the amendment process runs completely counter to the intentions of the founding fathers in including article V with its particular structure in the Constitution. Therefore, in accordance with the holding in Dyer and the overwhelming precedent established in the case law arising under article V, the position taken by the defendant that the Congress is empowered to decide all issues concerning the amendment process is clearly foreclosed, leaving this Court with the more difficult question of determining the various allocations of power under article V and the areas wherein judicial review is precluded. For this it is necessary to turn to the foundations of article V and an understanding of the purposes and operation of this critically important section of the Constitution. Professor Lester B. Orfield in his seminal work on the constitutional amendment clause, The Amending of the Federal Constitution (1942), offers an insightful, analytical beginning point in understanding the function of article V and the interrelationship of the entities involved in that process by considering the philosophical contributions made by article V. Professor Or-field points out that in the realm of political-philosophy and legal institutions, the idea of a written constitution developed at a late stage of Western Civilization and at the forefront of this development was the American experience. The doctrine of popular sovereignty had a strong appeal to the inhabitants of the colonies, and because the people were considered sovereign it followed that the people could create a constitution to dictate the legal structure of their government. Furthermore, as part of establishing a constitution, it also follows that once created, the constitution could also provide a mechanism for changing or amending the document. This idea of amending an organic instrument, Professor Orfield points out, is markedly and uniquely American and has a dramatic impact on the philosophical concept of legal sovereignty. A legal sovereign, as opposed to the popular sovereign (or those who are the source of public opinion, etc.) by definition is a person or body which is said to have unlimited lawmaking power which is not subject to any person or body legally superior to him; or in other words, the legal sovereign is defined as having unlimited lawmaking or legislative power. By way of illustration, in the English system the Parliament is the legal sovereign in that whatever it legislates is the supreme law of the land. A dictatorship has the despot as its legal sovereign for the same reason. In the American experience, however, even though the people have been referred to as the source of all political power, the creation of a written constitution shifted the ultimate lawmaking powers from the people, as a whole, and spread it among the various branches of government. It is this shift of power from the people to the constitutional structure that creates the question of where the legal sovereignty resides. In analyzing each of the possible alternatives, Professor Orfield in turn rejected the proposition that legal sovereignty rested in the states, either individually or collectively; the federal government; or the states and the federal government jointly, or finally the judiciary. Professor Orfield’s resolution of the question of the location of legal sovereignty was that it ultimately resides in the amending body as constituted and governed by article V. Professor Orfield wrote: Finally it must be seen that the status of the amending body has an important bearing on the controversy over the nature and extent of the powers of the federal government and the states, and on the general doctrine of sovereignty. Sovereignty rests in neither the federal government nor in the states, but, if it may be said to reside anywhere, in the amending body. The amending capacity demonstrates neither the supremacy of the states nor of the federal government. At one time it may operate in favor of the states, and at another in favor of the federal government. That the rights of neither will be impaired is guaranteed by their joint action in the amending process. Both are but agents of the composite states. Id. at 164-5. Regarding the amending body as the repository of legal sovereignty has an interesting impact on the perception of the amendment process and the participants therein. Initially it should be noted that the two participants listed in article V having a part in the amendment process — Congress and the state legislature or state convention- — comprise an independent body which solely has the power to alter the fundamental laws of the land. In short, a body which transcends both federal and state authority. When acting as part of the amending body, both participants act pursuant to the power and authority granted by article V and their traditionally defined roles have no bearing on their authority to either limit or expand them. See Hawke v. Smith, No. 1, 253 U.S. 221, 40 S.Ct. 495, 64 L.Ed. 871 (1920) (“ratification by a State of a constitutional amendment is not an act of legislation within the proper sense of the word .... The power to ratify a proposed amendment to the Federal Constitution has its source in the Federal Constitution.” Id. at 229-30, 40 S.Ct. at 497-98); Hollingsworth v. Virginia, 3 U.S. 3 Dall 378, 1 L.Ed. 644 (1798). (In proposing or acting on a proposed constitutional amendment Congress is not acting pursuant to its “ordinary” legislative powers found in article I but acts according to those powers granted under article V. Id. at 380 n.(a)). Within article V each of the participants are assigned certain powers which appear to be carefully balanced and approximately equally distributed. For example, Professor Orfield, in commenting upon the proposition that the states are really the sovereign in that amendments are ultimately ratified by them, writes that [a]n amendment is never brought about without prior initiation by Congress. Even when a constitutional convention is applied for by the state legislatures, the call must go forth from Congress. Congress, moreover, has the power to select the mode of ratification. Looked at from one angle, Congress has a dual capacity in proposing amendments. It actually initiates the amendment, while, at the same time, its vote in favor of it is in a way a vote of ratification, inasmuch as, without it, the amendment cannot even go before the states. It is in Congréss that amendments have been buried. The initiatory powers of the state legislatures have never as yet been brought to a successful fruition. It thus appears that the powers of the federal government with reference to amendments are fully equal to those of the states. A true sovereign must therefore embrace both governments. Id. at 154. Thus, each participant works within his scope of authority in order to bring about constitutional change. The authority of each appears to be delicately balanced to avoid any unseemly encroachment or potential for abuse. This balance between the participants works from the premise that both are the agents of the people, the sole legitimate source of constitutional change, representing them in markedly different fashions. James Madison made refere