Constitutional Law Keyed to Cohen
Shelley v. Kraemer
ProfessorTodd Berman
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
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- Topic: Identifies the topic of law and where this case fits within your course outline.
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- Procedural Posture & History: Shares the case history with how lower courts have ruled on the matter.
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- Facts: What are the factual circumstances that gave rise to the civil or criminal case? What is the relationship of the Parties that are involved in the case. Review the Facts of this case here:
This case joins together two cases, one from the Supreme Court of Missouri, and another from the Supreme Court of Michigan. In the first case, on appeal from the Supreme Court of Missouri, involves an agreement made on February 16, 1911. In this agreement, thirty out of a total of thirty-nine property owners fronting both sides of a street in the city of St. Louis signed an agreement that for the next fifty years none of the property on involved in this agreement should be inhabited by a member any race other than Caucasian. On August 11, 1945, pursuant to a contract of sale, Petitioners who are African-American, for valuable consideration received from one Fitzgerald, a warranty deed to the parcel in question. The trial court found that Petitioners had no knowledge of the restrictive government at the time of purchase. On October 9, 1945, Respondents, as owners of other property subject to the terms of the restrictive covenant brought suit in the Circuit Court of the city of St. Louis to restrain Petitioners from taking possession of the property. The trial court denied the requested relief on the groun d that the restrictive agreement never became final and complete. The Supreme Court of Missouri reversed and directed the trail court to grant the relief sought by the Respondents. The second trial court held the agreement effective and concluded that the enforcements of the provisions of the agreement violated no rights guaranteed to the Petitioners by the Federal Constitution. The second case, on appeal from the Supreme Court of Michigan, is materially similar to the Missouri case. Petitioners in both cases believe that judicial enforcement of the restrictive agreements in these cases violated rights guaranteed to petitioners by the Fourteenth Amendment of the Federal Constitution and Acts of Congress passed pursuant to that Amendment. They specifically allege they have been denied equal protection of the laws, deprived property without due process and denied privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States.
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