Adickes v. S. H. Kress & Co.
United States Supreme Court
398 U.S. 144 (1970)
- Written by Alexis Tsotakos, JD
Facts
On August 14, 1964, Sandra Adickes (plaintiff), a white schoolteacher, was refused service at the lunch counter at S.H. Kress & Co. (Kress) (defendant) in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, because she was accompanied by several of her African American students. After Adickes left the store, she was arrested on a charge of vagrancy. Adickes brought suit against Kress, alleging violation of her equal protection rights. She alleged two counts: (1) that she was refused service because she was in the company of African Americans, and there was a custom in the community of segregation in eating places; and (2) that the refusal of service and arrest were the result of a conspiracy between Kress and Hattiesburg police. At trial, Adickes did not prove that there had been other instances of a white person being refused service because he was accompanied by African Americans, and therefore failed to establish a custom, so the trial court directed a verdict in favor of Kress on the first count. The second count was dismissed on summary judgment before trial. The court of appeals affirmed with regards to both counts, Adickes appealed, and the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Harlan, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 812,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
