Katzenbach v. McClung

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Katzenbach v. McClung
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued October 5, 1964 Decided December 14, 1964
Full case name: Katzenbach v. McClung Citations: 379 U.S. 294
Holding
Court membership
Chief Justice: Earl Warren Associate Justices: Hugo Black, William O. Douglas, Tom C. Clark, John Marshall Harlan II, William J. Brennan, Jr., Potter Stewart, Byron White, Arthur Goldberg
Case opinions
Laws applied
Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Katzenbach v. McClung, 379 U.S. 294 (1964),^[1] was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that Congress acted within the power of the Commerce Clause in concluding that racial discrimination by such restaurants was a burden to interstate commerce.

Contents 1 Introduction 2 Facts of the case 3 Prior history 4 Decision of the Court 5 Effects of the decision 6 Critical response 7 Subsequent history 8 References 9 See also 10 External links

[edit] Introduction

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[edit] Facts of the case

Ollie's Barbeque was a small, family-owned restaurant that operated in Birmingham, Alabama, and that seated 220 customers. It was located on a state highway and was 11 blocks from an interstate highway. In a typical year, approximately half of the food it purchased from a local supplier originated out-of-state. It catered to local families and white collar workers and provided take-out service to African American customers.

[edit] Prior history

Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawing segregation in U.S. schools and public places. One section of the act, Title II, was specifically intended to grant African Americans full access to public facilities such as hotels, restaurants, and public recreation areas. On the same day, the Supreme Court heard challenges to Title II from a motel owner, in Heart of Atlanta Motel Inc. v. United States, and from Ollie McClung. Both claimed that the federal government had no right to impose any regulations on small, private businesses. Both ultimately lost. Ollie McClung won an initial round when he obtained an injunction in federal district court preventing the government from enforcing Title II against his restaurant. But then the Attorney General appealed this decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

[edit] Decision of the Court

Justice Clark wrote the majority opinion. The U.S. Supreme Court held that because some food served in the appellant's restaurant originated out of state, Congress could, under the Commerce Clause, outlaw racial segregation in this privately-owned business.

[edit] Effects of the decision

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[edit] Critical response

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[edit] Subsequent history

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[edit] References

1. ^ {{{2}}} U.S. {{{3}}} Full text of the opinion courtesy of Findlaw.com.

[edit] See also

• List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 379

[edit] External links