Law and Race Commons^™

The National Labor Relations Act And Racial Discrimination, Michael I. Sovern

Faculty Scholarship

When the United States Commission on Civil Rights completed its recent study of discrimination in employment, its findings began on the same depressing note sounded by virtually every student of the problem since the end of slavery:

[N]egro workers are still disproportionately concentrated in the ranks of the unskilled and semiskilled in both private and public employment. They are also disproportionately represented among the unemployed because of their concentration in unskilled and semi-skilled jobs-those most severely affected by both cyclical and structural unemployment-and because Negro workers often have relatively low seniority. These difficulties are due in some degree to present …

Constitutional Law - Equal Protection - Racial Discrimination And The Role Of The State, William C. Griffith S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Constitutional history from the 1857 Dred Scott decision to the 1954 Brown decision records "a movement from status to contract" for the American Negro. Although uncertainty clouds the definition of "state action," the civil rights of the Negro under the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment have been clearly established. The Negro citizen has arrived; the Negro minority group remains one of the gravest social problems of twentieth century America. De facto school segregation, limited economic opportunity, and inadequate housing are problems not solved by invocation of the fourteenth amendment or incantation of the Declaration of Independence. Solution, …

Constitutional Law- State Action And The Equal Protection Clause - Status Of Lessee Of Public Property, Stephen Bard

Michigan Law Review

Defendant Wilmington Parking Authority was a tax-exempt state agency organized under the Delaware Parking Authority Act to build and operate a public off-street parking facility. Financing of the project was accomplished primarily by the issuance of self-liquidating bonds, but fifteen percent of the necessary capital was advanced by the City of Wilmington from its public funds. The state agency had statutory authority to lease space in the facility for private commercial uses, but only to the extent that the rentals thereby obtained were needed to meet the state requirement that the facility be self-supporting. In accordance with this authority space …

Color Blindess But Not Myopia: A New Look At State Action, Equal Protection, And "Private" Racial Discrimination, Theodore J. St. Antoine

Michigan Law Review

Mr. Justice Frankfurter has remarked: "In law also the right answer usually depends on putting the right question." For nearly one hundred years now the courts have been putting certain key questions whenever confronted by the claim that a person was being deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the fourteenth amendment of the federal constitution. From the time the "separate-but-equal" doctrine was enunciated in Plessy v. Ferguson until it was repudiated in the School Segregation Cases two principal questions were likely to be asked about any classification based on racial grounds: (I) Did the classification result, …

Special Communication: The Jacksonville Human Relations Story With Reference To The Riots Of August 27, 1960., The Northeast Florida Council Of Human Relations

Textual material from the Rodney Lawrence Hurst, Sr. Papers

A special communication asking responsible citizens in Jacksonville to get involved in civil rights and explain what happened during the Jacksonville Race Riots in August, 1960. Dated: September, 1960

Report Of Jacksonville, Florida By Rodney Hurst. From The Papers Of The Naacp, Rodney Lawrence Hurst

Textual material from the Rodney Lawrence Hurst, Sr. Papers

Hurst's report on Ax Handle Saturday, NAACP, and other civil rights activities. August, 1960. Part 20, reel 6. Box 1, Folder 3

Greenberg: Race Relations And American Law, Spencer L. Kimball

Michigan Law Review

A Review of RACE RELATIONS AND AMERICAN LAW. By Jack Greenberg.

Consult Primary Authorities--Step Three In The Research Process

Research in Virgil Hawkins' World of Print--Historical Print Research Project No. 1: Abortion

The next likely step would have been to look up the statutes and the case that were listed in Florida Law and Practice to find additional information.To find both the statute and corresponding annotations, the student would have used the Florida Statutes Annotated. Since they found the citations for the statute in Florida Law and Practice, there is no need to use the index and the student would go directly to the volume of the set that contained the statute and annotations. At the time, F.S. § 782.10 held that intentionally causing a woman to miscarry would carry …

Conclusion And Fast Forward

Research in Virgil Hawkins' World of Print--Historical Print Research Project No. 1: Abortion

After analyzing statutes and case law information on abortion in Florida, the student could conclude and state that offering to help a woman obtain an abortion was illegal in the 1960’s and, if a miscarriage subsequently occurred due to aid provided, the person who helped obtain the abortion could be convicted of 3rd degree manslaughter.

In 1973, the Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade established that women had the right to seek an abortion and that states had to balance their ability to regulate health against a woman’s health care decision power and the potentiality of human life. 410 …

Research Strategy And Resources

Research in Virgil Hawkins' World of Print--Historical Print Research Project No. 1: Abortion

The first step in any research process is to create a research strategy and organize your plan. The first step in most legal research is the use of secondary sources in order to gain an overview of a legal issue and to find cases and statutes that discuss the topic. A possible source about the state of the law in Florida on the topic of abortion was Florida Law and Practice.

Historical Research Project On Abortion

Research in Virgil Hawkins' World of Print--Historical Print Research Project No. 1: Abortion

This document represents an historical research project, from start to finish, as it would have been accomplished during the time Virgil Hawkins was fighting to gain entry into the University of Florida law school. The student would have used print resources to resolve this legal question regarding abortion, a topic about which the law has changed significantly since the time this research would have been performed.

Discrimination In State University Housing Programs - Policy And Constitutional Consideration, William W. Van Alstyne

Faculty Publications

This paper examines several of the questions surrounding state universities’ relationships with local landlords who employ discriminatory practices. These questions include the privilege of state universities to enforce a policy of nondiscrimination and the prohibition against state universities placing students into segregated housing.

Civil Rights - Legislation - The Civil Rights Act Of 1957, Thomas R. Winquist S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

It is the purpose of this comment to note the nature of the prior legislation in the civil rights area, the provisions of the new act and the effect of the new act upon civil rights protection.

The Fourteenth Amendment Reconsidered, The Segregation Question, Alfred H. Kelly

Michigan Law Review

Some sixty years ago in Plessy v. Ferguson the Supreme Court of the United States adopted the now celebrated "separate but equal" doctrine as a constitutional guidepost for state segregation statutes. Justice Brown's opinion declared that state statutes imposing racial segregation did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment, provided only that the statute in question guaranteed equal facilities for the two races. Brown's argument rested on a historical theory of the intent, although he offered no evidence to support it. "The object of the amendment," he said, "was undoubtedly to enforce the absolute equality of the two races before the law, …

Constitutional Law - Equal Protection - Legality Of Plans For Maintaining School Segregation, John B. Huck

Michigan Law Review

On May 19, 1954, the Supreme Court of the United States declared that segregation in public schools was a denial of equal protection of the law. Since that date many and varied plans have been proposed to maintain segregated education by avoiding the impact of the decision. The legality of three of these proposed avoidance devices will be analyzed in this comment.

Constitutional Law-Equal Protection-Racial Restrictive Covenant In Deed Of Cemetery Lot As Defense To Damage Action, Lawrence N. Ravick

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff brought a damage action against a private cemetery for its refusal to permit the interment of her Indian husband in a burial lot which she had purchased from the defendant cemetery under a contract restricting burial privileges to members of the Caucasian race. Held, reliance upon a restrictive covenant to deny recovery does not constitute state action in violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Federal Constitution. Rice v. Sioux City Memorial Park Cemetery, (Iowa 1953) 60 N.W. (2d) 110.

Constitutional Law - Equal Protection - Determinable Fee As Devise To Impose Racial Restrictions On Use Of Land, Charles B. Renfrew S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Land was conveyed by deed to the Park and Recreation Commission, a municipal corporation. The grant was in the nature of a determinable fee, with the land to revert to the grantor if it was ever used by members of any race other than the white race. Members of the colored race petitioned the Park and Recreation Commission for permission to use the recreational facilities erected on the land conveyed and the commission then sought a declaratory judgment as to the legal effect of the possibility of reverter contained in the deed, joining the petitioners and the grantors of the …

Interstate Rendition And Illegal Return Of Fugitives, Herbert O. Reid

School of Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law - Equal Protection - Discrimination Against Negroes In State Recreation Facilities, Sanford B. Hertz S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Three suits were brought to obtain injunctions to prevent racial segregation at public bathing beaches, bathhouses, and swimming pools. Because the cases raised the same legal issue they were consolidated for trial. The plaintiffs moved for judgment on the pleadings. Held, motion denied. The segregation of Negroes and whites at bathing beaches, bathhouses and swimming pools does not per se deny to Negroes any rights protected by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Federal Constitution. Lonesome v. Maxwell, (D.C. Md. 1954) 123 F. Supp. 193.

Secondary Sources--Step One In The Research Process

Research in Virgil Hawkins' World of Print--Historical Print Research Project No. 1: Abortion

The first step in most legal research is to start with secondary sources to gain an overview of a legal issue and to find cases and statutes that discuss the topic. Secondary sources are statements or texts written about the law. A source that was available in the FAMU law library and could have been used to find information about the state of the law in Florida on the topic of abortion was Florida Law and Practice. To find information in Florida Law and Practice, the student would have used the title’s index and looked up the search …

Updating Resources

Research in Virgil Hawkins' World of Print--Historical Print Research Project No. 1: Abortion

In order to be certain the law that forms the basis of a legal argument or theory is current, it is crucial to update your research. Different resources use different methods, but a common method for treatises is the pocket part, an insert at the back of a book that contains information from after the date the book was published. Consequently, after reading the relevant entries in the main text of the treatise, the student would have looked at the pocket part to determine if there were any new cases or statutory changes that applied.

Review Resources--Step Two In The Research Process

Research in Virgil Hawkins' World of Print--Historical Print Research Project No. 1: Abortion

After finding the entry for abortion in the index, the student would then have gone to the volume and page indicated by the index to read the information provided. Studying the information contained in the entries, the student would have taken notes about statutes and cases that would be used to craft a legal analysis. The statutes on point that are listed by the treatise's entry are Florida Statutes § 782.10 and Florida Statutes § 797.01. The entry also names Eggart v. State as a case that discusses when an individual could be charged with a crime for assisting a …

Florida Law And Practice

Research in Virgil Hawkins' World of Print--Historical Print Research Project No. 1: Abortion

This compendium of Florida law is based on State and Federal decisions arising from Florida Statutes. It is an up to the minute encyclopedia of Florida law and procedure, edited by an exceptionally well qualified and experienced group of Florida lawyers and teachers, who have helped make Florida Law. The text is keyed to Florida publications, practice books and Florida digests.

This document contains limited excerpts from Volume One that apply to the research problem.

Segregation In Public Education: The Decline Of Plessy V. Ferguson, Paul G. Kauper

Michigan Law Review

In the landmark case of Plessy v. Ferguson decided in 1896, the Supreme Court of the United States gave its sanction to the "separate but equal" doctrine in the interpretation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. More particularly, the Court held that a state statute requiring racial segregation in railway service did not result in a denial of the equal protection of the laws. This decision did not go unchallenged. Kentucky-born Justice John Harlan remonstrated in a dissenting opinion of extraordinary force. Crying out like a lone voice in the wilderness he predicted that the judgment declared …

Constitutional Law - Civil Rights - Right Of Negro To Vote In State Primary Elections, John C. Hall S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The Jaybird Democratic Association was formed in Fort Bend County, Texas, in 1889. Membership was open to all white voters in the county. The association was not governed by the state statute regulating political parties. Candidates nominated by the Jaybird Party entered the Democratic county primary as individuals, not as Jaybird candidates, but those candidates won both the Democratic primary and the general election with only one exception in the entire history of the Jaybird Party. Terry, a Negro, sought a declaratory judgment and injunction permitting Negroes to vote in the Jaybird primary. The federal district court ruled that the …

Constitutional Law - Equal Protection - Damage Action For Breach Of Racial Restrictive Covenant, Raymond R. Trombadore S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioners sued at law for breach of a racial restrictive covenant, alleging that respondent violated the covenant by conveying restricted realty without incorporating restrictions in the deed, and by permitting non-Caucasians to enter and occupy the premises. The trial court sustained a demurrer to the complaint, the California court of appeals affirmed, and hearing was denied by the state supreme court. On certiorari the United States Supreme Court held, affirmed, Chief Justice Vinson dissenting. An award of damages by a state court for breach of racial restrictive covenants would constitute state action which would deprive the excluded class of …

Constitutional Law-Equal Protection-Use Of Property And Poll Tax Lists For Selection Of Jurors, Alfred W. Blumrosen S.Ed

Michigan Law Review

Brown, a Negro, was convicted of a capital offense in Forsyth County, North Carolina. Having exhausted his state remedies, he petitioned the federal district court for a writ of habeas corpus alleging, inter alia, systematic discrimination against Negroes serving on grand and petit juries. This discrimination was claimed to result from the use of property and poll tax lists as sources from which to draw jury panels. The district court denied his petition and was affirmed by the court of appeals. On certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, held, affirmed. The use of property and poll tax lists …

Constitutional Law-Equal Protection-Alien Land Law Violates Fourteenth Amendment, Sherman A. Itlaner S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, an alien Japanese, appealed from a judgment declaring an escheat of land purchased by him to the state pursuant to the California Alien Land Law prohibiting aliens ineligible for citizenship from holding land. On appeal, held, reversed. The Alien Land Law is unconstitutional under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as an "instrument for effecting racial discrimination . . . [ with] no circumstances justifying classification on that basis." Sei Fujii v. State, 38 Cal. (2d) 718, 242 P. (2d) 617 (1952).

Whom We Shall Welcome: Report Of The President's Commission On Immigration And Naturalization., Richard D. Rohr S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

A Review of WHOM WE SHALL WELCOME: REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT'S COMMISSION ON IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION. Washington, D.C.: Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office.

Constitutional Law-Equal Protection-Damage Action For Breach Of Racial Restrictive Covenant, Richard W. Pogue S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiffs sued at law to recover damages for breach of a racial restrictive covenant, alleging that defendants violated the covenant by conveying restricted property to persons of the Negro race and placing them in possession and occupancy. The circuit court granted defendants' motion to dismiss. On appeal, held, affirmed. The Fourteenth Amendment prevents the maintenance of an action for breach of racial restrictive covenants. Phillips v. Naff, (Mich. 1952) 52 N.W. (2d) 158.