CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--ANTI-LYNCHING LEGISLATION

Authors

William B. Harvey S.Ed., University of Michigan Law SchoolFollow

Abstract

Despite progress in recent years toward the elimination of lynching, the demand for adequate federal legislation to cope with the problem is unabated. For almost three decades Congress has considered a succession of anti-lynching bills, most of which have been favorably reported by committees. None has become law. Legislators and others opposing the enactment of a federal anti-lynching act have placed primary reliance on an asserted lack of constitutionality. It is argued that lynching is merely local crime within the scope of the power and responsibility of the states to enforce their own criminal law. The purpose of this comment is to attempt to determine what constitutional bases may exist for such legislation. The political and sociological problems in this area are beyond the scope of this writing.

Recommended Citation

William B. Harvey S.Ed., CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--ANTI-LYNCHING LEGISLATION, 47 Mich. L. Rev. 369 (1949).
Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol47/iss3/4