Cox v. Louisiana facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cox v. Louisiana |
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| Argued October 21, 1964 Decided January 18, 1965 |
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| Full case name | Reverend Mr. B. Elton Cox v. Louisiana |
| Citations | 379 U.S. 536 (more)
85 S. Ct. 453; 13 L. Ed. 2d 471; 1965 U.S. LEXIS 2008
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| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Goldberg |
| Concurrence | Black |
| Concurrence | Clark |
| Concur/dissent | White |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend. I | |
Cox v. Louisiana was an important case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1965. It was about the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects freedoms like speech and assembly. The Court decided that states cannot use "breach of the peace" laws against people who are protesting peacefully, even if their protest might cause some trouble.
Contents
Protest and Arrest
The Baton Rouge Protest
This case started because of a protest in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in December 1961. Students from Southern University, a college for Black students, were arrested for protesting a restaurant that only served white people.
The next day, a minister named B. Elton Cox organized a larger protest. About 2,000 people gathered near the courthouse where the students were being held. The police allowed the protest as long as it stayed across the street from the courthouse.
What Happened at the Protest
The protesters were peaceful and orderly. They sang songs and hymns, and the jailed students sang back from inside the courthouse.
Then, Reverend Cox gave a speech. He told the protesters that after leaving the courthouse, they should go downtown and sit at segregated lunch counters. This made some white people watching across the street upset.
The sheriff told the protesters to leave. But before they could, the police used tear gas on the group. Some people were hurt, including Reverend Cox.
Cox's Arrest and Charges
No one was arrested right away. But the next day, Reverend Cox was arrested at a church. He was charged with several things under Louisiana law. These included disturbing the peace, blocking public passages, and protesting near a courthouse.
Cox believed these charges were meant to stop him and the local civil rights movement. He was found not guilty of one charge, but guilty of the other three. He was sentenced to jail time and a fine. The Louisiana Supreme Court agreed with these convictions. Cox then appealed his case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Why This Case Mattered
Courts and Civil Rights
During the 1950s and 1960s, courts in the southern United States were often influenced by the intense struggles over race. This was different from the U.S. Supreme Court, whose judges are appointed for life and are supposed to be fair to everyone.
Because of this, African Americans often preferred to argue their cases in federal courts. They felt they had a better chance of being judged fairly there. Studies from that time showed that federal courts did rule in favor of African American defendants more often than state courts in the South. This created tension and often led the Supreme Court to step in on important issues like race and discrimination.
Protests and Public Attention
By late 1964, when the Supreme Court heard the Cox v. Louisiana case, protests were a big part of American society. These demonstrations were changing the country.
Newspapers and TV news paid a lot of attention to these large protests. For example, TV viewership increased a lot during coverage of a major civil rights march in Washington D.C. in 1963. This showed how much public attention these events were getting.
The Supreme Court's Decision
Overturning the Conviction
Justice Goldberg wrote the main opinion for the Supreme Court. The Court decided to overturn Reverend Cox's conviction.
A film of the protest was very important evidence. It showed that the protest was peaceful until the police got involved. This went against the state's claim that the protest had become violent.
Why the Court Decided This Way
The Court looked at how the police acted. They found that the police had allowed the protest to happen in a certain way. Then, they suddenly ordered the crowd to leave and used tear gas. The Court said this was not fair.
The justices agreed that the "breach of peace" conviction was wrong. However, they had different opinions about the other charges, like protesting near the courthouse and blocking a public passage.
Even though the Court overturned Cox's convictions, some justices expressed concerns about large protests. They wanted to make sure that protests did not get out of control or block public spaces unfairly.
See also
- List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 379
- Brown v. Louisiana
- Adderley v. Florida
- Edwards v. South Carolina
