Avent v. North Carolina (1962)
- Docket
- 11
- Decided
- 1962-01-01
- Category
- General
Summary
Question: Does the Fourteenth Amendment prohibit a white operator of a diner from barring black customers from a “whites only” section of the store? Conclusion: In a per curiam opinion, the Court vacated the North Carolina Supreme Court’s judgment and remanded the case for reconsideration in light of its decisions in Peterson v. City of Greenville and Patterson v. Alabama In Peterson , the Court held that states cannot use trespass laws to enforce discrimination mandated by a segregation ordinance. In Patterson , the Court held that it is bound to consider changes in law which supervene after a judgment is entered. Justice John Harlan dissented in part. He pointed out that the City of Durham had a restaurant segregation ordinance in effect, but that the North Carolina Supreme Court proceeded under the assumption that no such ordinance existed. He would have instead remanded the case for reconsideration in light of this fact.