Washington v. Lee
United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama
263 F. Supp. 327 (1966)
- Written by Angela Patrick, JD
Facts
Alabama statutes required the segregation of prisoners in state prisons and jails based on race. Caliph Washington, four other Black prisoners, and one White prisoner (collectively, the prisoners) (plaintiffs) sued Frank Lee (defendant), Alabama’s commissioner of corrections, in federal district court. The prisoners alleged that the mandatory-segregation statutes violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause and the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. The commissioner argued that courts could not rule on the validity of racial segregation in prisons because segregation decisions were a matter of prison security and discipline. A three-judge panel considered the matter.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Johnson, J.)
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