Barr v. City of Columbia (1963)
- Docket
- 9
- Decided
- 1963-01-01
- Category
- General
Summary
Question: Did the arrests and subsequent convictions of the participants in a lunch counter sit-in violate their Fourteenth Amendment rights? Conclusion: Yes. In a per curiam opinion, the Supreme Court held that there was no evidence that the petitioners’ conduct was anything other than polite and could not be construed as a breach of the peace. Given that the only evidence for a potential breach of peace was in the actions of hostile onlookers, there was no reason to arrest and convict the petitioners. Justice William O. Douglas concurred and cited the reasons stated in his opinion in Bell v. Maryland . In his opinion in that case, Justice Douglas argued that the segregation of public places drastically and negatively affects the lives of black Americans. It is a relic of slavery and second-class citizenship that is antithetical to the equal protection guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. Justice Arthur J. Goldberg concurred and cited the reasons stated in his concurring opinion in Bell v. Maryland . Chief Justice Earl Warren joined in the concurrence. In his concurring opinion, Justice Hugo L. Black argued that the conviction for trespassing should stand, as the police acted correctly in removing the petitioners from the property after they had been asked to leave. Justice John M. Harlan and Justice Byron R. White joined in the concurrence.