Edward C. Lawson Facts for Kids

Edward C. Lawson (born around 1946) is an African American civil rights activist. He is famous for his victory in a United States Supreme Court case called Kolender v. Lawson.

This important case in 1983 challenged a California law. The law allowed police to arrest people if they refused to show identification. The Supreme Court decided this law was unfair and went against the U.S. Constitution.

A Fight for Civil Rights
A Famous Case
A Private Person
See also

A Fight for Civil Rights

The story of Edward Lawson's famous court case shows how one person can stand up for their rights and make a big change.

Unfair Arrests

Between 1975 and 1977, Edward Lawson lived in San Diego, California. He was an African American man living in a mostly white neighborhood. He enjoyed taking long walks for exercise.

During this time, police stopped and arrested him 15 times. They used a California law that made it a crime to "wander upon the streets" and not provide identification when a police officer asked for it. Lawson believed he was being stopped unfairly because of his race.

Challenging the Law

Lawson decided to fight back. He challenged the law in court, arguing that it was unconstitutional. He believed the law gave police too much power to decide who was suspicious.

Amazingly, Lawson represented himself in the early stages of his case in a U.S. District Court and won. This is very rare for an ordinary citizen to do successfully.

Victory at the Supreme Court

The case eventually went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. By this time, Lawson had help from a lawyer named Robert H. Lynn and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

In 1983, the Supreme Court agreed with Lawson. They ruled that the California law was "unconstitutionally vague." This meant the law was not clear enough. It did not explain what kind of identification was needed, and it let police make arrests without clear rules. The court's decision canceled the law.

The law that Lawson challenged, California Penal Code § 647(e), was officially removed by the California Legislature in 2008.

A Famous Case

Lawson's case became very well-known across the United States. A reporter for CBS Evening News said it was the most reported Supreme Court case of 1983.

Many famous Black leaders supported Lawson, including:

Jesse Jackson, a civil rights leader
Dick Gregory, an activist and comedian
Maxine Waters, a U.S. Congresswoman from Los Angeles
John Conyers, a U.S. Congressman from Detroit

Major newspapers like The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times wrote front-page articles about it. Lawson also appeared on many popular TV shows to talk about his experience.

Harvard University law professor Laurence Tribe once said that this case was a huge and rare victory for an ordinary person in a major civil rights case.

A Private Person

Even though his court case was famous, not much is known about Edward Lawson's personal life. The Los Angeles Times once called him "mysterious, even secretive."

In the 1980s, he was said to own a business in San Francisco. By the 1990s, he was running a business in Los Angeles and was a member of the Screen Actors Guild.

Edward C. Lawson facts for kids

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