Levy v. Louisiana
Significance, The Levy Family, An Important Reversal: Illegitimate Children As Persons, An Important Reversal
Appellant
Adolph J. Levy
Appellee
State of Louisiana
Appellant's Claim
That a Louisiana law denying illegitimate children the right to recover damages for their mother's wrongful death violates the constitutional guarantee of Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Chief Lawyer for Appellant
Norman Dorsen
Chief Lawyer for Appellee
William A. Porteous III
Justices for the Court
William J. Brennan, Jr., William O. Douglas (writing for the Court), Abe Fortas, Thurgood Marshall, Earl Warren, Byron R. White
Justices Dissenting
Hugo Lafayette Black, John Marshall Harlan II, Potter Stewart
Place
Washington D.C.
Date of Decision
20 May 1968
Decision
The Court ruled in favor of Levy and overturned two lower court decisions by finding that he has the right to claim for wrongful death damages.
Related Cases
- Glona v. American Guarantee and Liability Insurance Co., 391 U.S. 68 (1968).
- Labine v. Vincent, 401 U.S. 532 (1971).
- Weber v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., 406 U.S. 164 (1972).
- Mathews v. Lucas, 427 U.S. 495 (1976).
Sources
West's Encyclopedia of American Law, Vol. 3. Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN: West Publishing, 1998.
Additional topics
- Linkletter v. Walker - Significance, Impact, Retroactivity
- Lenny Bruce Trial: 1964 - Adjournment For Illness, Adjourned For Vacation
- Levy v. Louisiana - Significance
- Levy v. Louisiana - Further Readings
- Levy v. Louisiana - The Levy Family
- Levy v. Louisiana - An Important Reversal: Illegitimate Children As Persons
- Levy v. Louisiana - An Important Reversal
- Levy v. Louisiana - Common Law Marriage
- Other Free Encyclopedias
Law Library - American Law and Legal InformationNotable Trials and Court Cases - 1963 to 1972