United States v. Alabama

United States v. Alabama
Argued May 2, 1960
Decided May 16, 1960
Full case nameUnited States v. Alabama
Docket no.398
Citations362 U.S. 602 (more)
Case history
PriorUnited States v. State of Alabama, 267 F.2d 808 (5th Cir. 1959), United States v. State of Alabama, 171 F. Supp. 720 (M.D. Ala. 1959)
Holding
A subsequent Civil Rights Act of 1960 of the Civil Rights Act of 1957 allows for the United States to seek relief against unlawful voting practices by states, and thus a district court has jurisdiction even if it previously did not.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Earl Warren
Associate Justices
Hugo Black · Felix Frankfurter
William O. Douglas · Tom C. Clark
John M. Harlan II · William J. Brennan Jr.
Charles E. Whittaker · Potter Stewart
Case opinion
Per curiam
Laws applied
Civil Rights Act of 1957, Civil Rights Act of 1960

United States v. Alabama, 325 U.S.. 602 (1960), was a Supreme Court case in which the court held that, after the Civil Rights Act of 1960 was signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on May 6, 1960, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama now had jurisdiction to hear a challenge against Alabama for violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1957. This came about after both the district court and the U.S Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit dismissed the case because the Civil Rights Act of 1957 did not authorize the United States to seek relief against a state.