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Constitutional Law Keyed to Stone
NAACP v. Button
Citation:
371 U.S. 415 (1963)Facts
The NAACP, formed in 1909 and incorporated in 1911, maintained a legal staff of 15 attorneys who were selected by the organization and paid on a per diem basis. The NAACP would finance litigation aimed at ending racial segregation, particularly in public schools. Staff attorneys would attend meetings where they would explain to potential litigants their legal rights and obtain signed forms authorizing them to represent these individuals in desegregation cases. The NAACP defrayed all litigation expenses and controlled the types of cases it would support, refusing to underwrite ordinary damages actions or cases seeking “separate but equal” facilities. In 1956, Virginia amended its laws to include in the definition of improper solicitation any arrangement where an organization retained lawyers for litigation in which it was not a party and had no pecuniary interest. The Virginia Supreme Court held that the NAACP’s activities constituted “fomenting and soliciting legal business” in violation of Chapter 33 and professional ethics canons.
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