BLOW ET AL.
v.
NORTH CAROLINA
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Pending convictions for attempting to be served at a public accommodation are abated by the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Petitioners, Negroes, were arrested and convicted for trespassing after waiting outside a segregated restaurant that served whites only. The restauran…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Public Accommodation cases and more on FLexlaw
Per Curiam.
Petitioners, two Negroes, approached the Plantation Restaurant in the company of 35 to 40 other Negroes. This restaurant served whites only and carried a sign to that effect on its front door. Pursuant to this policy the owner of the restaurant locked the door against the Negroes, though from time to time he would open the door to admit white customers and relock it after they had entered. The restaurant was some 60 feet fróm the highway/ the property between the. restaurant and the highway being owned by the restaurant proprietor. The Negroes waited outside the door, some on a shrubbery box six or eight feet away, others up to 15 feet distant. The owner asked the Negroes to leave; but they continued to wait quietly outside until they were arrested. For this conduct petitioners were indicted'.and convicted for violation of § 14-134 of the North Carolina General Statutes, making it an offense to “go or enter upon the lands of another, without a license therefor” and “after being forbidden to do so.” The Supreme Court of North Carolina affirmed petitioners’ convictions on March 18, 1964. 261 N. C. 463, 135 S. E. 2d 14; 261 N. C. 467, 135 S. E. 2d 17.
The Plantation Restaurant is situated on Interstate Highway 301 in the town of Enfield, North Carolina. Adjoining the restaurant and owned by the same person is the Enfield Motel. The restaurant’s menu and other advertising are posted in the rooms of this motel. The Plantation Restaurant and Enfield Motel are advertised on billboards for some miles up and down Highway 301. They are further advertised on the radio and in the newspapers.
Since these facts make it clear that the Plantation Restaurant “serves or offers to serve interstate travelers,” it must be held that the restaurant is a “place of public accommodation” within the meaning of §§201 (b)(2) and (c) (2) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“The Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbids discrimination in places of public accommodation and removes peaceful attempts to be served on an equal basis from the category of punishable activities. Although the conduct in the present cases occurred prior to the enactment of the Act, the still-pending convictions are abated by its passage.” Hamm v. City of Rock Hill, ante, at 308. Accordingly , the writ of certiorari is granted, the judgments are vacated, and the cause remanded for dismissal of the indictments.
It is so ordered.
Mr. Justice Black, Mr. Justice Hablan, and Mr. Justice White would affirm the judgments of the Supreme Court of North Carolina for the reasons stated in their dissenting opinions in Hamm v. City of Rock Hill, ante, at 318, 322, 327.
Mr. Justice Stewaet would vacate the judgments of the Supreme Court of North Carolina and remand the case to that court for the reasons stated in his dissenting opinion in Hamm v. City of Rock Hill, ante, at 326.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton, 413 U.S. 49 (U.S. 1973)…s a motion-picture house are “private” for the purpose of civil rights litigation and civil rights statutes. See Sullivan v. Little Hunting Park, Inc., 396 U. S. 229, 236 (1969); Daniel v. Paul, 395 U. S. 298, 305-308 (1969); Blow v. North Carolina, 379 U. S. 684, 685-686 (1965); Hamm v. Rock Hill, 379 U. S. 306, 307-308 (1964); Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States, 379 U. S. 241, 247, 260-261 (1964). The Civil Rights Act of 1964 specifically defines motion-picture houses and theaters as places of…
-
Willa Johnson v. Branch, 364 F.2d 177 (4th Cir. 1966)…public library by Negro high school students, and the picketing of places of public accommodation. The local theatre closed, and mass convictions for picketing at a local restaurant were finally reversed by the Supreme Court. Blow v. North Carolina, 379 U.S. 684, 85 S.Ct. 635, 13 L.Ed.2d 603 (1965). The plaintiff was a participant in one of the demonstrations and in the voter registration and voting activity. Both her husband and her father were candidates for public office. Her uncle brought suit in the…
-
Drews v. Maryland, 381 U.S. 421 (U.S. 1965)…because of their race are likely to react with .less than wholehearted cooperation. Today, I fear, the Court forgets that elemental principle of human conduct, and demands, on pain of criminal penalty, the patience of Job. In Blow v. North Carolina, 379 U. S. 684, the evidence adduced at trial showed that the petitioners, two Negroes, were refused service in a restaurant, whereupon one proceeded to sit down on the floor mat outside the door, and the other stood near the door. They were convicted under a stat…