Griffin v. Breckenridge
E507016
Griffin v. Breckenridge is a 1971 U.S. Supreme Court decision that recognized a federal cause of action under 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3) against private conspiracies to deprive individuals of equal protection or equal privileges and immunities.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Griffin v. Breckenridge canonical | 1 |
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
United States Supreme Court case
ⓘ
civil rights case ⓘ |
| areaOfLaw |
civil rights law
ⓘ
constitutional law ⓘ federal jurisdiction ⓘ |
| argued | 1971-01-11 ⓘ |
| citation |
29 L. Ed. 2d 338
ⓘ
403 U.S. 88 ⓘ 91 S. Ct. 1790 ⓘ |
| clarified |
that § 1985(3) does not require state involvement for liability
ⓘ
that § 1985(3) is not a general federal tort law ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| court | Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ |
| decided | 1971-05-24 ⓘ |
| decisionDate | 1971-05-24 ⓘ |
| docketNumber | No. 70-18 ⓘ |
| factPattern | African American plaintiffs alleged they were stopped, beaten, and threatened by private individuals while traveling on a Mississippi highway ⓘ |
| fullCaseName | Griffin et al. v. Breckenridge et al. NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| holding |
42 U.S.C. § 1985(3) provides a federal cause of action against private conspiracies to deprive persons of equal protection of the laws or equal privileges and immunities under the laws
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
42 U.S.C. § 1985(3) reaches purely private conspiracies and is not limited to actions under color of state law ⓘ Congress had power under the Thirteenth Amendment and the right-to-travel component of the Fifth Amendment to reach the private conduct at issue ⓘ To state a claim under § 1985(3), a plaintiff must allege a conspiracy motivated by a class-based, invidiously discriminatory animus ⓘ |
| impact | expanded availability of federal remedies against private conspiracies motivated by racial animus ⓘ |
| issue |
constitutional basis for congressional power to prohibit private conspiracies interfering with federal rights
ⓘ
scope of 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3) regarding private conspiracies ⓘ whether § 1985(3) requires state action ⓘ |
| jurisdiction | federal question jurisdiction ⓘ |
| legalProvisionInterpreted |
42 U.S.C. § 1985(3)
ⓘ
Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| majorityOpinionBy | Potter Stewart NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| opinionType | majority opinion ⓘ |
| precedentFor |
private civil rights actions under 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3)
ⓘ
requirement of class-based, invidiously discriminatory animus in § 1985(3) claims ⓘ |
| proceduralPosture | appeal from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ⓘ |
| recognizedCauseOfAction | federal civil action for damages against private conspirators under § 1985(3) ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
Ku Klux Klan Act
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution NERFINISHED ⓘ right to interstate travel ⓘ |
| requiresElement |
an act in furtherance of the conspiracy
ⓘ
class-based, invidiously discriminatory animus behind the conspirators' action ⓘ existence of a conspiracy ⓘ injury to person or property or deprivation of a federal right ⓘ purpose of depriving a person or class of equal protection or equal privileges and immunities ⓘ |
| stateOfOrigin | Mississippi NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| subsequentCitationBy |
Bray v. Alexandria Women’s Health Clinic
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America, Local 610 v. Scott NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| term | October Term 1970 ⓘ |
| vote | 9-0 ⓘ |
| yearDecided | 1971 ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.