Pioneering Litigation: Black Muslims as an Assertive Political Minority

• Published in: The Supreme Court and the Development of Law pp. 15 - 36
• Main Author: Smith, Christopher E
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: United States Palgrave Macmillan 2016; Palgrave Macmillan US
• Subjects: Black Muslims; Constitutional rights; Crime & criminology; Nation of Islam; Prisoner litigation; Prisoners’ rights

In Cooper v. Pate (1964), the Supreme Court endorsed the use of federal civil rights lawsuits by prisoners in state prisons as a means to seek protection of constitutional rights. This chapter examines the litigation leading up to Cooper to illustrate the important role of Black Muslim prisoners in...