George Pritchett, Russell Skallerup, and Bruce Mitchell, Appellants v. City of Hot Springs, Arkansas, Appellee

Summary

The court affirmed summary judgment for the City, holding that annexation by ordinance did not violate a constitutional right to vote or equal protection because annexation voting is not a fundamental right and the statute was subject only to rational-basis review. It also held that the statutory phrase "completely surrounded" includes an area bordered by the municipality and a lake because the statute's use of "includes" introduced a nonexclusive example. Justice Hart, dissenting, would have applied strict scrutiny and interpreted the statute to exclude the annexed area.