Louisiana v. United States (1965)

Louisiana v. United States, 380 U.S. 145 (1965), was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States that dealt with an "interpretation test" permitted by the Louisiana Constitution of 1921 alleged to deprive Louisiana Negroes of voting rights in violation of 42 U.S.C. Section 1971(a) and the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments.

Louisiana v. United States (1965)
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued January 26, 1965 Decided March 8, 1965
Full case name	Louisiana et al. v. United States
Citations	380 U.S. 145 (more) 85 S. Ct. 817; 13 L. Ed. 2d 709
Case history
Prior	United States v. Louisiana, 225 F. Supp. 353 (E.D. La. 1963); probable jurisdiction noted, 377 U.S. 987 (1964).
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 opinions
Majority	Black, joined by Warren, Douglas, Clark, Brennan, Stewart, White, Goldberg
Concurrence	Harlan

The test gave complete discretion to registrars to deny an applicant the ability to register to vote if he could not "give a reasonable interpretation" of any clause in the Louisiana Constitution or the Constitution of the United States.

See also

• List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 380

External links

• Text of Louisiana v. United States, 380 U.S. 145 (1965) is available from: CourtListener Findlaw Google Scholar Justia Library of Congress Oyez (oral argument audio)