United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit.January 27, 1969406 F.2d 724 (Approx. 3 pages)
406 F.2d 724
United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit.
Gary Lee WETHERINGTON, Appellant,
v.
Tom O. ADAMS, Individually and as Secretary of State of Florida and as Commissioner of Elections, Appellee.
No. 26136.
Jan. 27, 1969.
Attorneys and Law Firms
*724 Gary Lee Wetherington, pro se.
Earl Faircloth, Atty. Gen., Robert A. Chastain, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, Fla., for appellee.
Before THORNBERRY and DYER, Circuit Judges, and KEADY, District Judge.
Opinion
PER CURIAM:
Wetherington filed a complaint in the District Court, moved for injunctive relief against the application of a state statute, and requested the convening of a three-judge court pursuant to 28 U.S.C.A. § 2281. The complaint was dismissed for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. We reverse.
When an application for a statutory three-judge court is addressed to a district court, the court's inquiry is appropriately limited to determining whether the constitutional question raised is substantial, whether the complaint at least formally alleges a basis for equitable relief, and whether the case presented otherwise comes within the requirements of the three-judge statute. Those criteria were assuredly met here, and the applicable jurisdictional statute therefore made it impermissible for a single judge to decide the merits of the case, either by granting or by withholding relief. Idlewild Bon Voyage Liquor Corp. v. Epstein, 1962, 370 U.S. 713, 715, 82 S.Ct. 1294, 8 L.Ed.2d 794. See also Jackson v. Choate, 5 Cir. 1968, 404 F.2d 910 (1968).
The case is reversed and remanded with instructions to request the convening of a three-judge court by the Chief Judge of this Circuit.