The Civil Rights Cases (1883)

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The Civil Rights Cases (1883) were a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down key provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1875, severely limiting federal power to prohibit racial discrimination by private individuals and businesses.


Statements (49)
Predicate Object
instanceOf United States Supreme Court decision
civil rights case
constitutional law case
landmark case
alsoKnownAs Civil Rights Cases of 1883
citation 109 U.S. 3
27 L. Ed. 835
3 S. Ct. 18
country United States
court Supreme Court of the United States
decisionDate 1883-10-15
dissentingOpinionBy John Marshall Harlan
followedBy Plessy v. Ferguson
fullName The Civil Rights Cases
hasPart Robinson v. Memphis & Charleston Railroad Company
United States v. Nichols
United States v. Ryan
United States v. Singleton
United States v. Stanley
held Congress lacked authority under the Fourteenth Amendment to regulate private acts of racial discrimination
key provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 were unconstitutional
the Fourteenth Amendment applies only to state action, not purely private conduct
the Thirteenth Amendment did not authorize the challenged provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1875
historicalPeriod Reconstruction era
impact facilitated the rise of Jim Crow segregation laws
weakened Reconstruction-era civil rights protections
introducedDoctrine narrow interpretation of the state action requirement
joinedByInMajority Horace Gray
Morrison R. Waite
Samuel F. Miller NERFINISHED
Stanley Matthews
Stephen J. Field
William B. Woods NERFINISHED
jurisdiction federal jurisdiction of the United States
language English
legalSubject Civil Rights Act of 1875
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
state action doctrine
limited federal power to prohibit racial discrimination by private businesses
federal power to prohibit racial discrimination by private individuals
majorityOpinionBy Joseph P. Bradley
overturned federal prohibitions on racial discrimination in public accommodations enacted in the Civil Rights Act of 1875
precededBy Civil Rights Act of 1875
topic federalism in the United States
public accommodations
racial discrimination
vote 8–1
yearDecided 1883

Referenced by (4)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
The Civil Rights Cases ("Civil Rights Cases of 1883")
alsoKnownAs
The Civil Rights Cases ("The Civil Rights Cases")
fullName
Morrison R. Waite ("Civil Rights Cases (1883)")
presidedOver
Enforcement Clause
usedInCase

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