Pervear v. Massachusetts
Encyclopedia
Pervear v. Massachusetts, 72 U.S. (5 Wall.) 475
(1866) was a case brought before the United States Supreme Court in 1866 over the issue of prisoners'
rights
. The court ruled that prisoners have no constitutional rights, not even Eighth Amendment
rights. This was the first case stating the "hands off" policy
that allowed states
to run their prisons without federal interference. The application of the Bill of Rights to state action did not come until later and then only in part.
At that time in history
, the Bill of Rights
was seen as a bar to federal interference with state actions, and therefore a means of ensuring federal restraint.
business owner was convicted and sentenced to the payment of a large fine and to three months of hard labor
for failing to have a state license
for his liquor store
. He tried to invoke the "cruel and unusual punishment" clause of the Eighth Amendment
.
did not apply to state cases but only to federal issues. Pervear did not take the case further.
This "hands off" policy was not successfully challenged until 1963 in Jones v. Cunningham
when Supreme Court ruled that inmates in state institutions could file a writ of habeas corpus challenging the conditions of their imprisonment as well as its legality.
Case citation
Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...
(1866) was a case brought before the United States Supreme Court in 1866 over the issue of prisoners'
Incarceration
Incarceration is the detention of a person in prison, typically as punishment for a crime .People are most commonly incarcerated upon suspicion or conviction of committing a crime, and different jurisdictions have differing laws governing the function of incarceration within a larger system of...
rights
Rights
Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people, according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory...
. The court ruled that prisoners have no constitutional rights, not even Eighth Amendment
Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights which prohibits the federal government from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines or cruel and unusual punishments. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that this amendment's Cruel and Unusual...
rights. This was the first case stating the "hands off" policy
Policy
A policy is typically described as a principle or rule to guide decisions and achieve rational outcome. The term is not normally used to denote what is actually done, this is normally referred to as either procedure or protocol...
that allowed states
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
to run their prisons without federal interference. The application of the Bill of Rights to state action did not come until later and then only in part.
At that time in history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, the Bill of Rights
United States Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These limitations serve to protect the natural rights of liberty and property. They guarantee a number of personal freedoms, limit the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and...
was seen as a bar to federal interference with state actions, and therefore a means of ensuring federal restraint.
Circumstances
A MassachusettsMassachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
business owner was convicted and sentenced to the payment of a large fine and to three months of hard labor
Hard Labor
Hard Labor is the eleventh album by American rock band Three Dog Night, released in 1974 .- Cover Artwork :The original album cover, depicting of the birth of a record album , was deemed too controversial and was soon reworked with a huge bandage covering the "birth". The cover also includes an...
for failing to have a state license
License
The verb license or grant licence means to give permission. The noun license or licence refers to that permission as well as to the document recording that permission.A license may be granted by a party to another party as an element of an agreement...
for his liquor store
Liquor store
In the United States, Australia and Canada, a liquor store is a type of store that specializes in the sale of alcoholic beverages. In South Africa and Namibia these stores are generally called bottle stores....
. He tried to invoke the "cruel and unusual punishment" clause of the Eighth Amendment
Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights which prohibits the federal government from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines or cruel and unusual punishments. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that this amendment's Cruel and Unusual...
.
Outcome
The Supreme Court ruled that the ConstitutionConstitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
did not apply to state cases but only to federal issues. Pervear did not take the case further.
This "hands off" policy was not successfully challenged until 1963 in Jones v. Cunningham
Jones v. Cunningham
Jones v. Cunningham, 371 U.S. 236 was a Supreme Court case in which the court first ruled that state inmates had the right to file a writ of habeas corpus challenging both the legality and the conditions of their imprisonment. Prior to this, starting with Pervear v...
when Supreme Court ruled that inmates in state institutions could file a writ of habeas corpus challenging the conditions of their imprisonment as well as its legality.