Katzenbach v. Morgan
E87994
Fourteenth Amendment case
United States Supreme Court case
constitutional law case
voting rights case
Katzenbach v. Morgan is a 1966 U.S. Supreme Court case that upheld Congress’s power under the Fourteenth Amendment to prohibit certain state voting restrictions, reinforcing federal authority to protect voting rights.
Statements (50)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Fourteenth Amendment case
ⓘ
United States Supreme Court case ⓘ constitutional law case ⓘ voting rights case ⓘ |
| areaOfLaw |
civil rights law
ⓘ
constitutional law ⓘ election law ⓘ |
| citation | 384 U.S. 641 ⓘ |
| concurrenceBy | William O. Douglas NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| constitutionalProvisionInvoked |
Equal Protection Clause
ⓘ
Section 5 Enforcement Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| court | Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ |
| decisionDate | 1966-06-13 ⓘ |
| dissentBy |
Byron R. White
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
John M. Harlan II NERFINISHED ⓘ Potter Stewart NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| fullName | Katzenbach v. Morgan self-link ⓘ |
| holding |
Congress may use its power under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment to prohibit enforcement of state laws that it deems to violate equal protection, even if the Supreme Court has not independently found a constitutional violation
ⓘ
Section 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a valid exercise of Congress’s power under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment ⓘ |
| impact |
recognized a deferential standard to Congress in determining what legislation is appropriate to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment
ⓘ
strengthened federal authority to protect voting rights against restrictive state laws ⓘ |
| joinedByInMajority |
Abe Fortas
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Earl Warren ⓘ Hugo L. Black NERFINISHED ⓘ Tom C. Clark ⓘ William O. Douglas NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| jurisdiction | New York ⓘ |
| legalIssue |
federal power to prohibit state voting qualifications
ⓘ
scope of Congress’s enforcement power under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment ⓘ |
| majorityOpinionBy | William J. Brennan Jr. NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| pageInUnitedStatesReports | 641 ⓘ |
| petitioner |
Nicholas deB. Katzenbach
ⓘ
surface form:
Nicholas Katzenbach
|
| petitionerOffice |
United States Attorney General
ⓘ
surface form:
Attorney General of the United States
|
| precedentFor | later cases on Congress’s Section 5 enforcement power ⓘ |
| principleEstablished |
Congress has broad remedial and preventive power to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment
ⓘ
Congress may expand the protection of rights under the Fourteenth Amendment beyond what the Court has recognized, so long as it acts to enforce the Amendment ⓘ |
| protectedGroup | Puerto Rican citizens educated in Spanish ⓘ |
| reinforced | federal authority to prohibit certain state voting restrictions ⓘ |
| relatedConcept | congruence and proportionality (later refined in City of Boerne v. Flores) ⓘ |
| relatedStatute |
Fourteenth Amendment
ⓘ
surface form:
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Section 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ⓘ Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment ⓘ Voting Rights Act of 1965 ⓘ |
| respondent | Morgan ⓘ |
| stateLawChallenged | New York English literacy requirement for voter registration ⓘ |
| subjectMatter |
state English literacy requirements for voting
ⓘ
voting rights of Puerto Rican–educated citizens in New York ⓘ |
| volumeInUnitedStatesReports | 384 ⓘ |
| yearDecided | 1966 ⓘ |
Referenced by (5)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.