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Case Name
Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co.
FH-MO-0002
Docket / Court
65 C 301(3) ( E.D. Mo. )
State/Territory
Missouri
Case Type(s)
Fair Housing/Lending/Insurance
Case Summary
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 ...
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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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Issues and Causes of Action
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Issues
Discrimination-area
Housing Sales/Rental
Discrimination-basis
Race discrimination
General
Racial segregation
Plaintiff Type
Private Plaintiff
Race
Black
Causes of Action
42 U.S.C. ยง 1982
Case Details
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Defendant(s)
Alfred H. Mayer Company
Plaintiff Description
Plaintiffs allege that the respondents had refused to sell them a home in the Paddock Woods community of St. Louis County for the sole reason that the petitioner Joseph Lee Jones is black.
Class action status granted
No
Filed Pro Se
Unknown
Prevailing Party
Plaintiff
Public Int. Lawyer
Yes
Nature of Relief
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief
Litigation
Form of Settlement
Confession of Judgment
Order Duration
1968 - n/a
Filing Year
1965
Case Closing Year
1968
Case Ongoing
No
Additional Resources
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Jones v. Mayer Revisited
Date: 2009
By: Mira Tanna (Metro St. Louis Equal Housing Opportunity Council)
Citation: 57 Cleveland State Law Review No. 2 (2009)
[ Detail ]
[ PDF ]
[ External Link ]
Henry Hampton Collection: Interview of Hon. Robert Lee Carter
Henry Hampton Collection: Washington University in St. Louis
Date: Nov. 5, 1985
By: Robert Lee Carter, Henry Hampton Collection
[ Detail ]
[ External Link ]
The Oyez Project, Jones v. Mayer, 392 U.S. 409 (1968).
www.oyez.org
Date: Jun. 17, 1968
By: Oyez Project (IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law)
[ Detail ]
[ External Link ]
Documents
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Docket(s)
No docket sheet currently in the collection
General Documents
Opinion
(255 F.Supp. 115) (E.D. Mo.)
FH-MO-0002-0001.pdf
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WESTLAW
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LEXIS
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Detail
Date: 05/18/1966
Source: Google Scholar
Opinion [Court of Appeals]
(379 F.2d 33)
FH-MO-0002-0002.pdf
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WESTLAW
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LEXIS
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Detail
Date: 06/26/1967
Source: Google Scholar
Brief for the United States as Amicus Curiae
FH-MO-0002-0018.pdf
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Detail
Date: 10/01/1967
Source: Papers of Alexander (Sandy) Ross
[Re: Limited Construction of Section 1982]
FH-MO-0002-0011.pdf
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Detail
Date: 10/04/1967
Source: Papers of Owen Fiss
Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Company
FH-MO-0002-0010.pdf
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Detail
Date: 10/09/1967
Source: Papers of Owen Fiss
Memorandum Decision [regarding petition for writ of certiorari]
(389 U.S. 968)
FH-MO-0002-0003.pdf
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WESTLAW
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LEXIS
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Detail
Date: 12/04/1967
Memorandum Decision [regarding amicus curiae]
(390 U.S. 935)
FH-MO-0002-0004.pdf
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WESTLAW
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LEXIS
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Detail
Date: 03/04/1968
Source: Westlaw
Order [regarding Civil Rights Act of 1968]
(390 U.S. 1019)
FH-MO-0002-0005.pdf
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WESTLAW
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LEXIS
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Detail
Date: 04/22/1968
Source: Westlaw
Opinion [Supreme Court]
(392 U.S. 409)
FH-MO-0002-0006.pdf
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WESTLAW
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LEXIS
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Detail
Date: 06/17/1968
Source: Westlaw
On Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
(392 U.S. 409)
FH-MO-0002-0007.pdf
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WESTLAW
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LEXIS
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Detail
Date: 06/17/1968
Source: Papers of Owen Fiss
On Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
(392 U.S. 409)
FH-MO-0002-0008.pdf
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WESTLAW
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LEXIS
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Detail
Date: 06/17/1968
Source: Papers of Owen Fiss
On Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
(392 U.S. 409)
FH-MO-0002-0009.pdf
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WESTLAW
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LEXIS
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Detail
Date: 06/17/1968
Source: Papers of Owen Fiss
Concurring Opinion
(392 U.S. 409)
FH-MO-0002-0014.pdf
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WESTLAW
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LEXIS
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Detail
Date: 06/17/1968
Source: Papers of Alexander (Sandy) Ross
Order and Opinion
(88 S.Ct. 2186)
FH-MO-0002-0015.pdf
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WESTLAW
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Detail
Date: 06/17/1968
Source: Papers of Alexander (Sandy) Ross
Dissenting Opinion
FH-MO-0002-0016.pdf
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Detail
Date: 06/17/1968
Source: Papers of Alexander (Sandy) Ross
People
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Judges
Blackmun, Harry Andrew
(Eighth Circuit, SCOTUS)
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FH-MO-0002-0002
Douglas, William Orville
(SCOTUS)
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FH-MO-0002-0008 | FH-MO-0002-0014
Harlan, John Marshall
(Second Circuit, SCOTUS)
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FH-MO-0002-0009 | FH-MO-0002-0016
Lay, Donald Pomery
(Eighth Circuit)
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FH-MO-0002-0002
Mehaffy, Pat
(Eighth Circuit)
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FH-MO-0002-0002
Regan, John Keating
(E.D. Mo.)
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FH-MO-0002-0001
Stewart, Potter
(Sixth Circuit, SCOTUS)
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FH-MO-0002-0006 | FH-MO-0002-0007 | FH-MO-0002-0015
White, Byron Raymond
(SCOTUS)
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FH-MO-0002-0009 | FH-MO-0002-0016
Plaintiff's Lawyers
Fiss, Owen M.
(District of Columbia)
show/hide docs
FH-MO-0002-0011
Leff, Arthur A.
(Missouri)
show/hide docs
FH-MO-0002-0002
Liberman, Samuel H. II
(Missouri)
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FH-MO-0002-0001 | FH-MO-0002-0002 | FH-MO-0002-0006
Norman, David L.
(District of Columbia)
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FH-MO-0002-0010 | FH-MO-0002-0011
Spritzer, Ralph S.
(District of Columbia)
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FH-MO-0002-0010
Defendant's Lawyers
Treiman, Israel
(Missouri)
show/hide docs
FH-MO-0002-0001 | FH-MO-0002-0002 | FH-MO-0002-0006
Other Lawyers
Anderson, Norman H.
(Missouri)
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FH-MO-0002-0004
Burns, C. B. Jr.
(Missouri)
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FH-MO-0002-0004
Cadwalader, Thomas F.
(Maryland)
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FH-MO-0002-0004
Carter, Robert Lee
(New York)
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FH-MO-0002-0003 | FH-MO-0002-0004
Claiborne, Louis F.
(District of Columbia)
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FH-MO-0002-0003 | FH-MO-0002-0018
Clark, Ramsey
(District of Columbia)
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FH-MO-0002-0006 | FH-MO-0002-0018
Defeo, Louis C. Jr.
(Missouri)
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FH-MO-0002-0004
Griswold, Erwin N.
(District of Columbia)
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FH-MO-0002-0018
Hartman, Paul
(New York)
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FH-MO-0002-0003
Landsberg, Brian K.
(District of Columbia)
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FH-MO-0002-0018
Pfeffer, Leo
(New York)
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FH-MO-0002-0004
Pollak, Stephen J.
(District of Columbia)
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FH-MO-0002-0018
Posner, Richard A.
(District of Columbia)
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FH-MO-0002-0003
Rabkin, Sol
(New York)
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FH-MO-0002-0002 | FH-MO-0002-0003 | FH-MO-0002-0004
Robison, Joseph B.
(New York)
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FH-MO-0002-0002 | FH-MO-0002-0003
Williams, George Washington
(Maryland)
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FH-MO-0002-0004
Wulf, Melvin L.
(New York)
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FH-MO-0002-0004
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