Cooper v. Pate

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Cooper v. Pate
Seal of the United States Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
Decided June 22, 1964
Full case nameCooper v. Pate, warden
Citations378 U.S. 546 (more)
84 S. Ct. 1733; 12 L. Ed. 2d 1030
Case history
Prior324 F.2d 165 (7th Cir. 1963)
Holding
The judgment by the District Court, stating the lower courts were in error to dismiss the stated cause of action as the petitioner is entitled to have his case heard on its merits, was reverted.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Earl Warren
Associate Justices
Hugo Black · William O. Douglas
Tom C. Clark · John M. Harlan II
William J. Brennan Jr. · Potter Stewart
Byron White · Arthur Goldberg
Case opinion
Per curiam

Cooper v. Pate, 378 U.S. 546 (1964), was a U.S. Supreme Court case in which the court ruled for the first time that state prison inmates have the standing to sue in federal court to address their grievances under the Civil Rights Act of 1871. This case followed Jones v. Cunningham (1963) allowing prison inmates to employ a writ of habeas corpus to challenge the legality of their sentencing and the conditions of their imprisonment.[1]

Background[]

The petitioner, an inmate at the , brought a writ of certiorari alleging that solely because he was a Black Muslim he was denied permission to buy religious publications and also denied other privileges accorded other prisoners. The District Court had granted the respondent's motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim for which relief could be granted. The Court of Appeals affirmed.[2]

Opinion of the Court[]

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment, stating the lower courts were in error to dismiss the stated cause of action as the petitioner is entitled to have his case heard on its merits.[2]

Significance[]

This case made clear that prison authorities must do whatever is within their ability to treat individuals of every religious group equally, unless they can demonstrate good reasons to do otherwise.[3]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Prisoner Rights, Litigation, and Correctional Law". Archived from the original on 2007-12-16. Retrieved 2007-12-10.
  2. ^ a b Cooper v. Pate, 378 U.S. 546 (1964).
  3. ^ "Religion in Corrections - Legal issues". Archived from the original on 2006-05-19. Retrieved 2007-12-10.

Further reading[]

  • Smith, Christopher E. (1993). "Black Muslims and the Development of Prisoners' Rights". Journal of Black Studies. 24 (2): 131–146. doi:10.1177/002193479302400201. JSTOR 2784648.

External links[]

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