This case was one of the most important civil rights precedents of the 1960s. It began when the Plaintiffs, prospective African-American homebuyers, applied to purchase a property from Defendant-home developer, who rejected them solely on the basis of their race. Plaintiffs sued in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri under 42 U.S.C. 1981, 1982, 1983, and 2000e, alleging that a race-based denial of a home purchase violated federal civil rights laws, especially the requirement in 42 U.S.C. 1982 that: "All citizens of the United States shall have the same right, in every State and Territory, as is enjoyed by white citizens thereof to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property."

U.S. District Court Judge Regan granted Defendants' motion to dismiss, holding that in the absence of state action the Plaintiffs did not have a valid cause of action under federal civil rights statutes. Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co., 255 F. Supp. 115 (E.D. Mo 1966). The Eighth Circuit affirmed the dismissal on June 26, 1967. Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co., 379 F.2d 33 (8th Cir. 1967) (opinion of Blackmun, J.).

The Supreme Court reversed the lower courts on June 17, 1968. Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co., 392 U.S. 409 (1968). The Court held that Congress, acting pursuant to its power under the Thirteenth Amendment to eliminate badges of slavery, had the constitutional power to prohibit certain types of private race-based discrimination, and that 42 U.S.C. 1982 validly exercised this power by forbidding private discrimination relating to the sale of housing.

Andrew Nash - 06/02/2008


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