Smith v. Allwright
E17203
Smith v. Allwright was a landmark 1944 U.S. Supreme Court case that struck down racially exclusive primary elections, significantly advancing African American voting rights.
Aliases (3)
Statements (46)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
United States Supreme Court case
→
landmark voting rights case → |
| areaOfLaw |
civil rights law
→
constitutional law → election law → |
| background |
African American voter Lonnie E. Smith was denied the right to vote in a Democratic primary in Texas
→
Texas Democratic Party restricted primary voting to white voters only → |
| category |
1944 in United States case law
→
United States Supreme Court cases of the Stone Court → United States Supreme Court cases on voting rights → |
| citation |
321 U.S. 649
→
|
| constitutionalProvision |
Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
→
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution → |
| country |
United States
→
|
| court |
Supreme Court of the United States
→
|
| decisionDate |
1944-04-03
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|
| dissentBy |
Owen J. Roberts
→
|
| effectOnLaw |
required states to ensure that primary elections comply with the Constitution
→
|
| effectOnPolitics |
altered the structure of one-party Democratic dominance in the South by opening primaries to Black voters
→
|
| fullCaseName |
Smith v. Allwright, Secretary of State of Texas
→
|
| historicalContext |
decided during World War II
→
part of the early civil rights movement legal victories → |
| holding |
political party primaries are an integral part of the electoral process and subject to constitutional constraints
→
racially exclusive primary elections violate the Fifteenth Amendment → |
| impact |
invalidated white primary systems used to exclude Black voters
→
significantly expanded African American participation in primary elections in the South → strengthened federal protection of voting rights → |
| jurisdiction |
Texas
→
|
| legalIssue |
application of the Fifteenth Amendment to primary elections
→
constitutionality of racially exclusive primary elections → state action in party primary elections → |
| litigationSupport |
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
→
|
| majorityOpinionBy |
Stanley Forman Reed
→
|
| overruledPrecedent |
Grovey v. Townsend
→
|
| petitioner |
Lonnie E. Smith
→
|
| precedentFor |
expansion of the concept of state action in civil rights jurisprudence
→
later voting rights cases enforcing the Fifteenth Amendment → |
| precedentStatusOfGrovey v. Townsend |
overruled
→
|
| recognizedAs |
major milestone in dismantling Jim Crow electoral practices
→
|
| relatedTo |
NAACP legal strategy against racial discrimination in voting
→
white primaries in the Jim Crow South → |
| respondent |
S. E. Allwright
→
|
| topic |
African American voting rights
→
white primary system → |
| voteSplit |
8–1
→
|
| yearDecided |
1944
→
|
Referenced by (11)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
→
Thurgood Marshall → Thurgood Marshall → |
notableWork |
|
Smith v. Allwright
("African American voter Lonnie E. Smith was denied the right to vote in a Democratic primary in Texas")
→
|
background |
|
Smith v. Allwright
("Smith v. Allwright, Secretary of State of Texas")
→
|
fullCaseName |
|
United States Supreme Court cases of the Stone Court
→
|
includesCase |
|
S. E. Allwright
→
|
legalCase |
|
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
→
|
notableCase |
|
Grovey v. Townsend
→
|
overruledBy |
|
Grovey v. Townsend
("Smith v. Allwright, 321 U.S. 649 (1944)")
→
|
overruledByCitation |
|
Grovey v. Townsend
→
|
relatedCase |