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 | Hey whatcha reading? | |
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| Oh just brushing up on some wonderful landmark supreme court case. | |
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| Which? | |
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| Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States where the Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. Congress has the right to use the Commerce Clause power to fight discrimination. | |
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| How can the Congress use that clause to fight discrimination? And what does a motel in Georgia care if they can or not? | |
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| The Heart of Atlanta motel was a large, 216-room motel in Atlanta, Georgia, which refused to rent rooms to black patrons, in direct violation of the terms of the act. The owner of the motel filed suit in federal court, arguing that the requirements of the act exceeded the authority granted to Congress over interstate commerce. In addition, the owner argued that the act violated his Fifth Amendment rights to choose customers and operate his business as he wished and resulted in unjust deprivation of his property without due process of law and just compensation. Finally, the owner argued that Congress had placed him in a position of involuntary servitude by forcing him to rent available rooms to blacks, thereby violating his Thirteenth Amendment rights. | |
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