Taylor v. Louisiana
Headline: Court reverses convictions of six Black interstate bus passengers arrested for sitting in a whites-only waiting room, blocking local enforcement of segregation at interstate stations and protecting passengers' federal travel rights.
Holding:
- Reverses convictions of Black interstate passengers arrested for sitting in whites-only waiting rooms.
- Limits police use of breach-of-the-peace laws to enforce segregation at interstate stations.
- Protects interstate travelers' right to use facilities despite local segregation customs
Summary
Background
Six Black men were arrested at the Trailways bus depot in Shreveport when four entered the waiting room reserved for white people and two remained in the car. The four said they were interstate passengers who wanted to buy tickets and obtain travel information. The Chief of Police told them to use the colored waiting room and ordered them to move; after they refused and asserted their federal rights, the police arrested them. Witnesses testified the petitioners were quiet, orderly, and polite. Some onlookers in the white waiting room became restless and climbed onto seats, but the record shows those persons moved on when the police ordered them to do so. There was no evidence of violence. At trial the court convicted the four for breaching the peace and found the other two had counseled and procured the offense, treating the mere presence of the Black men in the white waiting room as sufficient evidence.
Reasoning
The Court compared this record to recent decisions and concluded the only evidence supporting the charge was that the petitioners had violated a local custom of segregated waiting rooms. Federal law does not allow segregation in interstate transportation facilities, and the Court rejected the trial court’s reliance on the idea that mere presence would likely cause disorder. Because the convictions rested on enforcing a segregation practice barred by federal law, the Court held the judgments could not stand and reversed the convictions.
Real world impact
The decision reverses the convictions of the six Black interstate passengers and prevents similar prosecutions based solely on their peaceful presence in whites-only waiting areas at interstate facilities. It limits the ability of local authorities to use breach-of-the-peace laws to enforce segregation customs where federal law forbids segregation in interstate transportation.
Dissents or concurrances
Mr. Justice Harlan said he would have granted review and set the case for argument; Mr. Justice Frankfurter did not take part in the decision.
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