Schnell v. Davis 336 U.S. 933 (1949)

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SCHNELL v. DAVIS 336 U.S. 933 (1949)

In a per curiam opinion, the Supreme Court affirmed a district court judgment. Davis had brought a class action, arguing that enforcement of Alabama's "Boswell Amendment" violated the voting rights of blacks. The amendment, adopted in 1946 to circumvent the decision in smith v. allwright (1944), made the ability to "understand and explain" the Constitution a requirement for voter registration. The record showed that this "understanding clause" was used exclusively to deny registration to blacks. The Court held that the requirement violated the fifteenth amendment because it was used to deny the right to vote on account of race or color.

Dennis J. Mahoney
(1986)

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