Lee v. Washington
Lee v. Washington | |
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![]() N.D. Ala. 1966) | |
Holding | |
State jails and prisons may not segregate prisoners based on race. | |
Court membership | |
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Case opinions | |
Per curiam | |
Concurrence | Black, Harlan, and Stewart |
Laws applied | |
U.S. Const. amend. XIV |
Lee v. Washington, 390 U.S. 333 (1968), is a
Background
The state of
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama found in favor of the prisoners, and ordered Alabama to desegregate its jails and prisons.[2] Alabama had argued that segregation was necessary in order to maintain security and minimize violence, but the Appeals court held that "this Court can conceive of no consideration of prison security or discipline which will sustain the constitutionality of state statutes that on their face require complete and permanent segregation of the races in all the Alabama penal facilities. We recognize that there is merit in the contention that in some isolated instances prison security and discipline necessitates segregation of the races for a limited period. However, recognition of such instances does nothing to bolster the statutes or the general practice that requires or permits prison or jail officials to separate the races arbitrarily. Such statutes and practices must be declared unconstitutional in light of the clear principles controlling."
Opinion of the Court
Alabama appealed to the Supreme Court, which upheld the Appeals court decision in a very brief
See also
References
External links
Works related to Lee v. Washington at Wikisource
- Text of Lee v. Washington, 390 U.S. 333 (1968) is available from: Justia Library of Congress Oyez (oral argument audio)