NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co.

E179510

NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co. is a landmark 1982 U.S. Supreme Court case that held nonviolent civil rights boycotts and related advocacy are protected by the First Amendment.

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Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf First Amendment case
United States Supreme Court case
landmark civil rights case
areaOfLaw First Amendment law
civil rights law
constitutional law
arguedDate 1981-03-03
citation 458 U.S. 886
concurrenceBy William H. Rehnquist
concurrenceInJudgment William H. Rehnquist
court Supreme Court of the United States
decisionDate 1982-07-02
docketNumber 81-202
factualBackground NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co. self-linksurface differs
surface form: Local NAACP leaders organized a boycott of white merchants in Claiborne County, Mississippi, to protest racial discrimination.

White merchants sued the NAACP and boycott leaders for damages allegedly caused by the boycott.
fullCaseName NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co. self-linksurface differs
surface form: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Claiborne Hardware Co.
holding Liability for violence or threats may be imposed only on those who specifically authorized, directed, or ratified such conduct.
Nonviolent boycotts to effectuate political, social, and economic change are protected by the First Amendment.
Speech, assembly, association, and petition rights protect organizers and participants in nonviolent civil rights boycotts.
States may not impose liability for damages on participants in a nonviolent political boycott based on the boycott’s effects on business.
issue whether a nonviolent civil rights boycott is protected by the First Amendment
joinedByInMajority Byron R. White
Harry A. Blackmun
Lewis F. Powell Jr.
Potter Stewart
Thurgood Marshall
Warren E. Burger
William J. Brennan Jr.
jurisdiction United States of America
surface form: United States
legalPrinciple First Amendment protection for politically motivated consumer boycotts
heightened protection for expressive conduct in the context of civil rights advocacy
limits on state tort liability when it burdens protected political expression
locationOfEvents Claiborne County, Mississippi
majorityOpinionBy John Paul Stevens
originatingStateCourt Supreme Court of Mississippi
surface form: Mississippi Supreme Court
page 886
parties Charles Evers
Claiborne Hardware Company
NAACP
surface form: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
proceduralPosture appeal from the Supreme Court of Mississippi
rearguedDate 1981-10-07
relatedConcept freedom of assembly
freedom of association
freedom of speech
political boycott
relatedMovement civil rights movement in the United States
reporter United States Reports
volume 458
yearDecided 1982

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Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Brandenburg v. Ohio subsequentCitationBy NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co.
NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co. fullCaseName NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co. self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Claiborne Hardware Co.
NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co. factualBackground NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co. self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: Local NAACP leaders organized a boycott of white merchants in Claiborne County, Mississippi, to protest racial discrimination.