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Palmore v. Sidoti, 466 U.S. 429 (1984)
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General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
Palmore v. Sidoti, 466 U.S. 429 (1984)
Palmore v. Sidoti No. 82-1734 Argued February 22, 1984 Decided April 25, 1984 466 U.S. 429
CERTIORARI TO THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF
FLORIDA, SECOND DISTRICT
Syllabus
When petitioner and respondent, both Caucasians, were divorced in Florida, petitioner, the mother, was awarded custody of their 3-year-old daughter. The following year, respondent sought custody of the child by filing a petition to modify the prior judgment because of changed conditions, namely, that petitioner was then cohabiting with a Negro, whom she later married. The Florida trial court awarded custody to respondent, concluding that the child’s best interests would be served thereby. Without focusing directly on the parental qualifications of petitioner, her present husband, or respondent, the court reasoned that, although respondent’s resentment at petitioner’s choice of a black partner was insufficient to deprive petitioner of custody, there would be a damaging impact on the child if she remained in a racially mixed household. The Florida District Court of Appeal affirmed.
Held: The effects of racial prejudice, however real, cannot justify a racial classification removing an infant child from the custody of its natural mother. The Constitution cannot control such prejudice, but neither can it tolerate it. Private biases may be outside the reach of the law, but the law cannot, directly or indirectly, give them effect. Pp. 431-434.
426 So.2d 34, reversed.
BURGER, C.J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Palmore v. Sidoti, 466 U.S. 429 (1984) in 466 U.S. 429 466 U.S. 430. Original Sources, accessed November 24, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=LH75JXSJZWDGXI9.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Palmore v. Sidoti, 466 U.S. 429 (1984), in 466 U.S. 429, page 466 U.S. 430. Original Sources. 24 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=LH75JXSJZWDGXI9.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Palmore v. Sidoti, 466 U.S. 429 (1984). cited in 1984, 466 U.S. 429, pp.466 U.S. 430. Original Sources, retrieved 24 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=LH75JXSJZWDGXI9.
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