Today in Supreme Court History: December 14, 1964

12/14/1964: Heart of Atlanta Motel v. U.S. and Katzenbach v. McClung are decided.

 

Comments

[JoeFromtheBronx]

Justice John Marshall Harlan is praised for many of his dissents.

Two dissents that should get a bit more love are his dissents in The Civil Rights Cases and Lochner v. N.Y.. Holmes gets all the attention for his flashy words. But Harlan shows how you can do it without tossing out a "right to contract."

The first should get more love in the Supreme Court. Many of his dissents, including Lochner are now law. Why not this one?

The 19th-century law, passed shortly after the ratification of the 14A (supposedly something we should care about -- see, e.g., legislative chaplains and the 1A), against segregated public accommodations was struck down in The Civil Rights Cases. But the opinion left something open:

And whether Congress, in the exercise of its power to regulate commerce amongst the several States, might or might not pass a law regulating rights in public conveyances passing from one State to another is also a question which is not now before us.

And that is what today's cases address. Douglas and Goldberg in Heart of Atlanta Motel also leave open the 14A angle. For instance, Goldberg notes:

I expressed my conviction that § 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees to all Americans the constitutional right "to be treated as equal members of the community with respect to public accommodations," and that "Congress [has] authority under § 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment, or under the Commerce Clause, Art. I, § 8, to implement the rights protected by § 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment.

The Supreme Court recognized in the 19th Century that public accommodations are "clothed with the public interest" and are just that. Not merely "private" property. Thus, Congress has the power to regulate them under the 14th Amendment.

[Brett Bellmore]

And I'll express my conviction that the 14th amendment says, "No State shall... nor shall any State", and that your average American is not a State.

The rights protected by the 14th amendment are rights against the government, and ONLY against the government. And so 14th amendment enabling legislation can only address evils committed by government. But federally nominated and confirmed Justices are forever looking for excuses to expand federal power.

[Hugh]

Yes, business owners have the constitutional right to be racist pigs, don't they? Although I suppose if they have the right to be religious bigots, why not?

[Davy C]

Even if they don't have the constitutional right to be racist pigs, that doesn't mean the *federal* government has the power to stop them. I don't have the constitutional right to start throwing punches at random people on the sidewalk; that doesn't mean the federal government can pass a law prohibiting that.

[Brett Bellmore]

Exactly!

And let's be clear what's meant by being racist pigs. If you're being a racist pig in some area of your life where you're entitled to make your own decisions, then the government shouldn't be able to do anything about it. No legal penalties if you only date or even marry members of your own race, for instance, any more than there can be if you date or marry members of a different race.

On the other hand, if you're being a racist pig by doing things that would properly be a crime if you did them for non-racist reasons, that is perfectly reasonably a matter for government. STATE government.

Not federal government, because, expressly, the Constitution via the 14th amendment only empowers the federal government to deal with STATES being racist pigs.

So, what's the real controversy, when pretty much everybody agrees that you can't murder people on the basis of race, but you can date on the basis of race?

Where the line is drawn, between what's properly within the reach of government, and what isn't. And, libertarians believe that economic choices are as much an individual right as dating choices.

At present, you can be a racist pig in regards to who you're willing to work for, and the government won't blink. If you're a racist pig in regards to who you'll hire to work for you, ton of bricks.

Well, unless you're a racist pig against whites, in which cast theoretically ton of bricks, real world normally nothing happens. Not exactly principled from any perspective...

[JoeFromtheBronx]

If the sidewalk was outside a federal building, the federal government has the power to do so.

Likewise, public accommodations can be regulated by Congress in various respects, including as a matter of interstate commerce.

We are not just talking about some general police power here or regulating who to associate with in one's homes or private clubs.

[not guilty]

How long will it be until Chief Justice Whoreberts and his fellow clowns find a vehicle to overrule Heart of Atlanta Motel and McClung?

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