Heart of Atlanta Motel v. US held that segregation in public accommodations could be barred under which constitutional mechanism?

• A. Commerce Clause
• B. First Amendment
• C. Due Process
• D. Eighth Amendment

Answer: (A)

Regulating private businesses through the Commerce Clause when their conduct affects interstate commerce is the main idea. In Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States, the Supreme Court upheld the Civil Rights Act’s ban on racial segregation in places of public accommodation by grounding federal power in the Commerce Clause. The Court reasoned that hotels and motels serve interstate travelers and that discrimination in those establishments has a substantial effect on interstate commerce by shaping travel and commerce across state lines. Because Congress can regulate activities with such effects on cross-state commerce, it may prohibit segregation in public accommodations, even when private businesses are involved. The decision does not rely on the First Amendment, Due Process, or Eighth Amendment, which do not authorize this kind of federal regulation of private discriminatory conduct in public facilities.