Katzenbach v. Morgan
Encyclopedia
Katzenbach v. Morgan, 384 U.S. 641
(1966), was a United States
Supreme Court
case regarding the power of Congress, pursuant to Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment
, to enact laws which enforce and interpret provisions of the Constitution.
of the Fourteenth Amendment nor of the Fifteenth Amendment
. Lassiter v. Northampton Election Board (1959).
In 1965, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which sought to safeguard the voting rights of previously disenfranchised minorities. Among other provisions, the Voting Rights Act made some literacy tests illegal. Section 4 (e) was aimed at securing the franchisement of New York City's large Puerto Rican population, and "provides that no person who has completed the sixth grade in a public school, or an accredited private school, in Puerto Rico in which the language of instruction was other than English shall be disfranchised for inability to read or write English."
Registered voters in the state of New York brought suit, alleging that Congress exceeded its powers of enforcement under the 14th Amendment and alleging that Congress infringed on rights reserved to states by the 10th Amendment.
[...]
Section. 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Nicholas Katzenbach
, reversed the District Court, and held that Section 4(e) was constitutional. Writing the majority opinion, Justice Brennan stressed that Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment is "a positive grant of legislative power authorizing Congress to exercise its discretion in determining the need for and nature of legislation to secure Fourteenth Amendment guarantees." Justice Brennan applied the appropriateness standard of McCulloch v. Maryland
(1819) to determine whether the legislation passed constitutional muster.
Section 4(e) arguably expanded rights beyond what the Court had recognized in Lassiter, but Justice Brennan ruled that Section 4(e) was appropriate. In doing so, Brennan has often been credited with introducing the "ratchet theory" for congressional legislation enacted under Section 5. The "ratchet theory" held that Congress could ratchet up civil rights beyond what the Court had recognized, but that Congress could not ratchet down judicially recognized rights. The "ratchet theory" essentially set judicially recognized rights as a support, on which Congress could expand if it so chose. According to this "ratchet" theory, Justice Brennan's opinion allowed for multiple interpreters of the Fourteenth Amendment, as opposed to just the judiciary.
In dissent, Justice Harlan criticized the "ratchet theory" and the idea of multiple interpreters of the Fourteenth Amendment. Justice Harlan relied on the separation of powers doctrine to argue that allowing Congress to interpret the Fourteenth Amendment undercut the power of the judiciary. Justice Harlan objected to Congress having the power to interpret the Fourteenth Amendment substantively (that is, to create new rights). Harlan argued that the appropriate use of Section 5 power was the enforcement of judicially recognized Fourteenth Amendment rights.
(1997). The Boerne Court stated: "This is not a necessary interpretation, however, or even the best one." By striking down the Religious Freedom Restoration Act
, the Court addressed the separation of powers concerns voiced earlier by Justice Harlan in Morgan.
Case citation
Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...
(1966), was a United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
case regarding the power of Congress, pursuant to Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v...
, to enact laws which enforce and interpret provisions of the Constitution.
Facts
Prior to the 1960s, many states and municipalities in the United States used literacy tests in order to disenfranchise minorities. In 1959, the U.S. Supreme Court held that literacy tests were not necessarily violations of Equal Protection ClauseEqual Protection Clause
The Equal Protection Clause, part of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, provides that "no state shall ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws"...
of the Fourteenth Amendment nor of the Fifteenth Amendment
Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits each government in the United States from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude"...
. Lassiter v. Northampton Election Board (1959).
In 1965, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which sought to safeguard the voting rights of previously disenfranchised minorities. Among other provisions, the Voting Rights Act made some literacy tests illegal. Section 4 (e) was aimed at securing the franchisement of New York City's large Puerto Rican population, and "provides that no person who has completed the sixth grade in a public school, or an accredited private school, in Puerto Rico in which the language of instruction was other than English shall be disfranchised for inability to read or write English."
Registered voters in the state of New York brought suit, alleging that Congress exceeded its powers of enforcement under the 14th Amendment and alleging that Congress infringed on rights reserved to states by the 10th Amendment.
The Fourteenth Amendment
Section. 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.[...]
Section. 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
The Supreme Court's decision
By a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court sided with Attorney GeneralAttorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
Nicholas Katzenbach
Nicholas Katzenbach
Nicholas deBelleville Katzenbach is an American lawyer who served as United States Attorney General during the Lyndon B. Johnson administration.-Early life:...
, reversed the District Court, and held that Section 4(e) was constitutional. Writing the majority opinion, Justice Brennan stressed that Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment is "a positive grant of legislative power authorizing Congress to exercise its discretion in determining the need for and nature of legislation to secure Fourteenth Amendment guarantees." Justice Brennan applied the appropriateness standard of McCulloch v. Maryland
McCulloch v. Maryland
McCulloch v. Maryland, , was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States. The state of Maryland had attempted to impede operation of a branch of the Second Bank of the United States by imposing a tax on all notes of banks not chartered in Maryland...
(1819) to determine whether the legislation passed constitutional muster.
Section 4(e) arguably expanded rights beyond what the Court had recognized in Lassiter, but Justice Brennan ruled that Section 4(e) was appropriate. In doing so, Brennan has often been credited with introducing the "ratchet theory" for congressional legislation enacted under Section 5. The "ratchet theory" held that Congress could ratchet up civil rights beyond what the Court had recognized, but that Congress could not ratchet down judicially recognized rights. The "ratchet theory" essentially set judicially recognized rights as a support, on which Congress could expand if it so chose. According to this "ratchet" theory, Justice Brennan's opinion allowed for multiple interpreters of the Fourteenth Amendment, as opposed to just the judiciary.
In dissent, Justice Harlan criticized the "ratchet theory" and the idea of multiple interpreters of the Fourteenth Amendment. Justice Harlan relied on the separation of powers doctrine to argue that allowing Congress to interpret the Fourteenth Amendment undercut the power of the judiciary. Justice Harlan objected to Congress having the power to interpret the Fourteenth Amendment substantively (that is, to create new rights). Harlan argued that the appropriate use of Section 5 power was the enforcement of judicially recognized Fourteenth Amendment rights.
Significance
Katzenbach v. Morgan is a prime example of judicial deference to Congressional authority, and allowed Congress great latitude in use of Section 5. Thirty-one years after Katzenbach, the Supreme Court revisited the "ratchet" interpretation, in the case of City of Boerne v. FloresCity of Boerne v. Flores
City of Boerne v. Flores, 521 U.S. 507 , was a Supreme Court case concerning the scope of Congress's enforcement power under the fifth section of the Fourteenth Amendment...
(1997). The Boerne Court stated: "This is not a necessary interpretation, however, or even the best one." By striking down the Religious Freedom Restoration Act
Religious Freedom Restoration Act
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, Pub. L. No. 103-141, 107 Stat. 1488 , codified at through , is a 1993 United States federal law aimed at preventing laws that substantially burden a person's free exercise of their religion. The bill was introduced by Howard McKeon of California and...
, the Court addressed the separation of powers concerns voiced earlier by Justice Harlan in Morgan.