U.S v. Stanley & U.S. v. Nichols
The 14th Amendment states that no person will be deprived of life, liberty, or property without “due process of the law.” It also states that no person can be denied “equal protection of the laws.” With this in mind, two cases sparked when Murray Stanley and Samuel Nichols denied accommodations at a hotel for African Americans. One of the arguments for Stanley and Nichols was that the 14th Amendment can only discriminate state action; not county action or single person action. Congress does not have the power to pass laws prohibiting discrimination by private citizens. The Defendants were in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 which prevents any person from limiting someone’s full enjoyment in public places.
The 14th Amendment states that no person will be deprived of life, liberty, or property without “due process of the law.” It also states that no person can be denied “equal protection of the laws.” With this in mind, two cases sparked when Murray Stanley and Samuel Nichols denied accommodations at a hotel for African Americans. One of the arguments for Stanley and Nichols was that the 14th Amendment can only discriminate state action; not county action or single person action. Congress does not have the power to pass laws prohibiting discrimination by private citizens. The Defendants were in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 which prevents any person from limiting someone’s full enjoyment in public places.
U.S v. Ryan & U.S. v. Singleton
Ryan was charged with not admitting a black person to the dress circle at Maguire’s Theatre in San Francisco. Singleton was indicted for denying a person (the color of that person was not stated) the full enjoyment of a theatre known as the Grand Opera House in New York. These four cases (Including U.S. v. Stanley and U.S. v. Nichols) were submitted before the United States Supreme Court on the last term of the court on November 7, 1882.
Ryan was charged with not admitting a black person to the dress circle at Maguire’s Theatre in San Francisco. Singleton was indicted for denying a person (the color of that person was not stated) the full enjoyment of a theatre known as the Grand Opera House in New York. These four cases (Including U.S. v. Stanley and U.S. v. Nichols) were submitted before the United States Supreme Court on the last term of the court on November 7, 1882.
Robinson & Wife v. Memphis & Charleston Railroad Company
Robinson and his wife boarded a train that belonged to the Memphis and Charleston Railroad Company. Mr. Robinson was considered white while Mrs. Robinson was black. Mrs. Robinson tried to sit in the white railroad seat but was denied by the train conductor. Robinson and his wife brought an action to court to make the Memphis and Charleston Railroad Company pay the U.S. $500 discrimination penalty charge. This case was first brought to the Circuit Court of the United States for the Western District of Tennessee. The case escalated to the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court assumed that there was some improper connection between Robinson and his wife and the court believed that the conductor excluded the woman from the railroad car because of that improper connection. This court was submitted before the Supreme Court on March 9, 1883. Collectively, the Supreme Court ruled all 5 cases at once. The decision was unanimous: 8-1. The only justice who dissented was Justice John Marshall Harlan. The majority opinion of the Supreme Court was delivered by Chief Justice Bradley and declared that acts of racial discrimination of private actors that can be punished by the Civil Rights Act of 1875, was unconstitutional.
Robinson and his wife boarded a train that belonged to the Memphis and Charleston Railroad Company. Mr. Robinson was considered white while Mrs. Robinson was black. Mrs. Robinson tried to sit in the white railroad seat but was denied by the train conductor. Robinson and his wife brought an action to court to make the Memphis and Charleston Railroad Company pay the U.S. $500 discrimination penalty charge. This case was first brought to the Circuit Court of the United States for the Western District of Tennessee. The case escalated to the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court assumed that there was some improper connection between Robinson and his wife and the court believed that the conductor excluded the woman from the railroad car because of that improper connection. This court was submitted before the Supreme Court on March 9, 1883. Collectively, the Supreme Court ruled all 5 cases at once. The decision was unanimous: 8-1. The only justice who dissented was Justice John Marshall Harlan. The majority opinion of the Supreme Court was delivered by Chief Justice Bradley and declared that acts of racial discrimination of private actors that can be punished by the Civil Rights Act of 1875, was unconstitutional.