Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States

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Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States
Court U.S. Supreme Court
Citation 379 U.S. 241 (1964)
Date decided December 14, 1964
Case Opinions
unanimous written by Tom C. Clark
concurrence written by Hugo L. Black
concurrence written by William O. Douglas
concurrence written by Arthur J. Goldberg

Facts

A hotel did not admit Blacks. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed this practice, and the hotel questioned the constitutional validity of the act

Issues

Whether the Civil Rights Act of 1964 can outlaw a private hotel’s nonacceptance of guests due to race.

Holding

Judgment against the hotel.

Rule

There is overwhelming evidence of the disruptive effect that racial discrimination has had on commercial intercourse, and Congress was not restricted by the fact that the particular obstruction to interstate commerce with which it was dealing was also deemed a moral and social wrong.

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