Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States
United States Supreme Court
379 U.S. 241 (1964)
Congress passed the Civil Rights Act (CRA) of 1964, whose Title II bars racial discrimination by places of public accommodation like hotels and restaurants. Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. (plaintiff), which primarily hosted out-of-state guests, had a policy of refusing rooms to African Americans, and sued the United States government (defendant) in Georgia federal court, arguing the CRA exceeded Congress's Commerce Clause power. The district court upheld the CRA, and the court of appeals affirmed, so the motel appealed to the Supreme Court.
Whether Congress may enact the Civil Rights Act's ban on racial discrimination in places of public accommodation as a valid exercise of its power to regulate interstate commerce.