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Smith v. Allwright , 321 U.S. 649
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 Reporter s or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported....
 (1944), was an important decision of the United States Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal United States federal courts. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who are nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed with th...
 with regard to voting rights and, by extension, racial desegregation
Desegregation

'Desegregation' is the process of ending racial segregation, most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the African-American Civil Rights Movement , both before and after the Supreme Court of the United States decision in Brown v....
. It overturned the Democratic Party's use of all-white primaries in Texas, and other states where the party used the rule.

ie E. Smith, a black voter in Harris County, Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
, sued for the right to vote in a primary election
Primary election

A primary election , also referred to simply as a primary, is an election in which voters in a jurisdiction select candidates for a subsequent election....
 being conducted by the Democratic Party.






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Smith v. Allwright , 321 U.S. 649
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 Reporter s or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported....
 (1944), was an important decision of the United States Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal United States federal courts. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who are nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed with th...
 with regard to voting rights and, by extension, racial desegregation
Desegregation

'Desegregation' is the process of ending racial segregation, most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the African-American Civil Rights Movement , both before and after the Supreme Court of the United States decision in Brown v....
. It overturned the Democratic Party's use of all-white primaries in Texas, and other states where the party used the rule.

Background

Lonnie E. Smith, a black voter in Harris County, Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
, sued for the right to vote in a primary election
Primary election

A primary election , also referred to simply as a primary, is an election in which voters in a jurisdiction select candidates for a subsequent election....
 being conducted by the Democratic Party. The law he challenged allowed the party to enforce a rule requiring all voters in its primary to be white. Because the Democratic Party had controlled politics in the South since the late 19th century, most Southern elections were decided by the outcome of the Democratic primary. Representing the NAACP, Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall

'Thurgood Marshall' was an United States jurist and the first African American to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. Before becoming a judge, he was a lawyer who was best remembered for his high success rate in arguing before the Supreme Court and for the victory in Brown v....
 argued this case in favor of Lonnie E. Smith.

Issue

Texas claimed that the Democratic Party was a private organization that could set its own rules of membership. Smith argued that the law in question essentially disfranchised him by denying him the ability to vote in what was the only meaningful election in his jurisdiction.

The Decision

The Court agreed that the restricted primary denied Smith his protection under the law and found in his favor.

The Aftermath

Some observers believed the Court's ruling in this case helped prepare for its later ruling in Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education

'Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka', Case citation , was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, which overturned earlier rulings going back to Plessy v....
 (1954), in terms of looking at the effect of a practice or law.

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