Lee v. Washington
United States Supreme Court
390 U.S. 333 (1968)
- Written by Jamie Milne, JD
Facts
Certain Alabama statutes required the segregation of persons in state prisons and jails based on race. Caliph Washington and other Black detainees (plaintiffs) sued Frank Lee (defendant), Alabama’s commissioner of corrections, arguing that the statutes violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. A three-judge district-court panel held that the statutes were unconstitutional and ordered the desegregation of Alabama’s penal institutions. Lee appealed to the United States Supreme Court, arguing that the statutes were constitutional and that the district court’s order for desegregation failed to provide necessary leeway to ensure prison security and discipline.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)
Concurrence (Black, J.)
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