Bailey v. Alabama
E934443
Bailey v. Alabama is a 1911 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down a state law effectively criminalizing breach of labor contracts, holding that it violated the Thirteenth Amendment’s prohibition of involuntary servitude.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Bailey v. Alabama canonical | 1 |
Statements (40)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Thirteenth Amendment case
ⓘ
U.S. constitutional law case ⓘ United States Supreme Court case ⓘ |
| areaOfLaw |
civil rights law
ⓘ
criminal law ⓘ labor law ⓘ |
| citation | 219 U.S. 219 ⓘ |
| constitutionalProvisionInterpreted |
Anti-Peonage Act
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| court | Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ |
| decisionDate | 1911 ⓘ |
| effect | restricted states’ ability to use criminal law to coerce labor performance ⓘ |
| finding |
criminal penalties attached to labor contract breach could amount to involuntary servitude
ⓘ
presumption of fraudulent intent from mere nonperformance of labor contract was unconstitutional when used to compel labor ⓘ |
| fullCaseName | Bailey v. State of Alabama NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| historicalContext | post-Reconstruction regulation of Black labor in the American South ⓘ |
| holding |
Alabama statute criminalizing breach of certain labor contracts violated the Thirteenth Amendment
ⓘ
State may not use criminal law to enforce labor contracts in a way that compels involuntary servitude ⓘ |
| jurisdiction |
State of Alabama
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
United States of America ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| languageOfProceedings | English ⓘ |
| legalIssue |
constitutionality of criminal penalties for breach of labor contracts
ⓘ
involuntary servitude under the Thirteenth Amendment ⓘ peonage ⓘ |
| majorityOpinionBy | Charles Evans Hughes NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| party |
Alonzo Bailey
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
State of Alabama NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| precedentFor |
interpretation of involuntary servitude beyond chattel slavery
ⓘ
limits on criminal sanctions for breach of employment contracts ⓘ |
| recognizedAs | landmark Thirteenth Amendment decision ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
debt peonage
ⓘ
forced labor ⓘ post–Civil War labor control statutes ⓘ |
| result | Alabama conviction reversed ⓘ |
| stateLawInvolved | Alabama statute making failure to perform labor contract prima facie evidence of intent to defraud ⓘ |
| subsequentCitationIn | later Thirteenth Amendment and peonage cases ⓘ |
| timePeriod | Progressive Era NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| typeOfRemedyLimited | criminal enforcement of private labor contracts GENERATED ⓘ |
| vote | 7–2 ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.