1 / 11

Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States

Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States. 1964. Background. Civil Rights Act – 1964 Among many other things: Outlawed racial discrimination in places of public accommodation Took regulatory power away from states. Background. Heart of Atlanta Motel didn’t rent rooms to black patrons

maya
Télécharger la présentation

Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States 1964

  2. Background • Civil Rights Act – 1964 • Among many other things: • Outlawed racial discrimination in places of public accommodation • Took regulatory power away from states

  3. Background • Heart of Atlanta Motel didn’t rent rooms to black patrons • Owner Myron Rolleston didn’t believe law should apply to his business

  4. Rolleston’s argument • Hotel intentionally didn’t operate across state lines in any way • Didn’t accept phone or mail reservations • Didn’t use vendors from out-of-state

  5. Rolleston’s argument • This case doesn’t apply to interstate commerce • Georgia solely should have right to regulate business

  6. Law in Question #1 • Amendment 5 • “…nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation...” • His interpretation: taking use of property is equal to taking the property itself

  7. Law in Question #2 • Amendment 13 • “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude …shall exist within the United States…” • Argues he’s forced into involuntary servitude by having to serve customers he doesn’t want

  8. Argument of Solicitor General • Hotel located center of ATL, near interstate hwys 75, 85, 20, & 285 • 75% of customers came from out of state • This discrimination impedes interstate travel (a form of interstate commerce)

  9. Law in Question #3 • US Constitution—A1 §8 ¶3, 18 • To regulate commerce…among the several states… • To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers

  10. Decision Supreme Court ruled unanimously: • Commerce Clause allows Congress to regulate some types of local businesses • Law carefully limited to businesses that are directly related to “interstate flow of goods and people”

  11. Long-term impact • Dramatically increased scope of commerce clause to include more categories of business • Dealt blow to racially discriminatory practices across US • Shifted balance of power between national and state governments

More Related