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Tate v. Short, 401 U.S. 395 (1971)
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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.
Tate v. Short, 401 U.S. 395 (1971)
Tate v. Short No. 324 Argued January 14, 1971 Decided March 2, 1971 401 U.S. 395
CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TEXAS
Syllabus
Petitioner, an indigent, was convicted of traffic offenses and fined a total of $425. Though Texas law provides only for fines for such offenses, it requires that persons unable to pay must be incarcerated for sufficient time to satisfy their fines, at the rate of $5 per day, which, in petitioner’s case, meant an 85-day term. The state courts denied his petition for habeas corpus.
Held: It is a denial of equal protection to limit punishment to payment of a fine for those who are able to pay it, but to convert the fine to imprisonment for those who are unable to pay it. Williams v. Illinois, 399 U.S. 235. Pp. 397-401.
445 S.W.2d 210, reversed and remanded.
BRENNAN, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BURGER, C.J., and DOUGLAS, STEWART, WHITE, MARSHALL, and BLACKMUN, JJ., joined. BLACKMUN, J., filed a concurring statement, post, p. 401. BLACK, J., concurred in the result. HARLAN, J., filed a statement concurring in the judgment, post, p. 401.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Tate v. Short, 401 U.S. 395 (1971) in 401 U.S. 395 401 U.S. 396. Original Sources, accessed May 20, 2024, http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=QTCBYLW1RGB62TM.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Tate v. Short, 401 U.S. 395 (1971), in 401 U.S. 395, page 401 U.S. 396. Original Sources. 20 May. 2024. http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=QTCBYLW1RGB62TM.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Tate v. Short, 401 U.S. 395 (1971). cited in 1971, 401 U.S. 395, pp.401 U.S. 396. Original Sources, retrieved 20 May 2024, from http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=QTCBYLW1RGB62TM.
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